While they readily acknowledge their thoughts are still more “grand vision” than a definitive plan, sisters Karlea and Cassandra Boyer are eager to open their property north of Iola to the community.
Karlea, 36, and Cassandra, 29, as well as siblings Hailey, 31, and Ethan Boyer, 23, are in the midst of cleaning up the 130-plus acre parcel of land they inherited after their father, Robin Boyer, died in January 2024.
“We have a few things definitely in mind,” Karlea said.
The land was developed by the Boyers’ grandfather, the late Marvin Boyer, who on top of running an oil company, became one of Iola’s preeminent developers. The elder Boyer had a part in bringing in a skating rink, bowling alley, Crossroads Motel (now the Regency Inn) and a cement plant to town. He also built a private museum that later became a paintball venue before it was destroyed in a fire.
On top of that, he turned more than 50 acres of land just north of Oregon Road into a picturesque showpiece, with a fully stocked private lake, a walking trail, a de facto wildlife refuge and most importantly, a place to call home.
Fast forward to 2025, and the remaining Boyer siblings were faced with a question. Do they continue developing the land and build on what their grandfather had done for more than half a century? Or do they wash their hands of the place and sell it?
They’ve chosen the former — for now.
“We want to keep it,” Karlea said. ‘Our grandfather built it. But we also want to give back to the community.”
Their vision includes opening the lake for recreation opportunities, perhaps building a series of tiny homes on the south side,bringing in a petting zoo, clearing the trail — could it be connected to the nearby Prairie Spirit Rail Trail, Karlea asked — and maintaining nearby farmland.
AFTER MARVIN Boyer’s death, and the land was deeded to son Robin, he continued to live there and operate Nautilus Commercial Data Systems, while largely leaving the adjoining land untouched.
Cleaning that property, and renovating the home their grandfather built a half century ago, has been step one in their reclamation project.
“There’s definitely overgrowth, but it’s definitely saveable,” Karlea said. “That’s what we’ve been doing since last January.”
Karlea, who splits time between Iola and Nevada, has been back in Kansas full time while the cleanup continues.
“We’ve had people from the community come in, and offer to clean the property for us — for a price,” Karlea said. “But with what they were charging, we knew we could buy our own tractor and do this work ourselves.”
She estimates the cleanup is more than halfway complete.
“Our mother and her fiance have been out there pretty much every day, working on remodeling our grandfather’s house,” Karlea said. “And we siblings are out here whenever we can.”
