Henry Colyer came to Kansas and chose the land for his house specially. The road led up a gentle slope to a hill that overlooked the Washington Creek valley. Their neighbors, albeit few, were also situated around Washington Creek. The nearest town was Willow Springs three and a half miles to the east.
Colyer spent months building his two-story house atop the hill and in March 1863, Henry and his wife Sarah moved in to begin their family. Getting seed and supplies in Willow Springs, Henry started his farm and in no time became a well-respected member of the community. Nighttime, before he and Sarah would slumber, would be filled with Henry talking about ideas to not only better his land but the surrounding area.
About fourteen miles northeast of the Colyers is the city of Lawrence. It was a quiet August night as the faint waves of the Kansas River lapped at its shores. From the east, along the Oregon Trail, a group of several hundred pro-slavery guerrillas led by William Clarke Quantrill rode past the town site of Franklin, past the Robert Miller homestead and gathered at the east end of South Park at dawn.
Then they attacked.
The guerillas rode up and down the streets, burning down building and shooting the men coming out of their homes to defend their families and their city. The raiders hunted down important free-state men and gunned them down. The city of Lawrence was burned down and the raid left almost 200 men and boys dead.
Quantrill and his men then rode south out of Lawrence but a splinter group headed southeast and came upon the town of Bloomington where they burned two houses owned by Dr. Eli Macy, known for his activities for the Underground Railroad. Messengers were able to ride further south and warn about the impending attacks and that saved a few people but a few were willing to fight and one of those last people was Henry Colyer.
Henry was already up when he heard the call. From his house on the hill he could see the smoke from Lawrence. He went downstairs and grabbed his gun. Henry ran down toward the main road and took two shots at the ruffians but unfortunately missed. The raiders, however, did not. Henry was shot right in the chest. The splinter group arrived on the Santa Fe Trail and rejoined with the main group, who had burned down Jacob Ulrich's farm, shot Dunkard Minister Abraham Rothrock and burned the town of Brooklyn to the ground.
Henry died instantly and, per his wishes, Henry was buried on his land. A marble gravestone surrounded by a makeshift wood fence marked his final resting place. Sarah stayed on the farm a few more weeks to settle all affairs and wait for her brother to take her back to Indiana. She left furniture, some flowers on Henry's grave, boarded up the house and left the property abandoned.
The land reverted back to nature becoming overgrown with grass, vines and weeds. The road leading to the house became washed out and the once-plentiful fields were producing foods of smaller size. Soon, the house became invisible from the main road. For five years, the house remained untouched, forgotten and lonely.
Eugene Conrad saw great potential in the dilapidated house. He chose the house especially for him and his wife Linda to finish raising their children and possibly their grandchildren. Eugene suddenly appeared one day and began toiling endlessly, clearing away brush and repainting the fading house. Eugene was a hard worker and believed that rewards come throughout life. Eugene was a religious man but did not go to church feeling that he could worship a God better from within. It amazed family and friends when he married Linda.
Linda was seen as God-fearing and serious. A stark contrast to Eugene's normally jovial attitude. Linda would go to church faithfully every week and pray for her husband's soul. Eugene and Linda did not force their children to go to church but if they didn't, Linda prayed for their souls also. Linda was normally quiet-Eugene doing most of the talking-but was the disciplinarian of the family. Her punishments made you not want to get in trouble again. As a result, their children, Randall and Christine, were the two best-behaved children growing up.
Randall took after his father in most aspects. Randall was a laid-back, talkative dreamer. He had few friends but spent a lot of time with his little sister, Christine. Randall loved teaching Christine and her innocence meant a lot to him. Once they all moved into the Colyer House, brother and sister began exploring the surrounding landscape. It was during one of these excursions that they ran into Emily Collins. Emily was a pretty blond girl who immediately stole Randall's attention from Christine. Randall, then 16, began spending his spare time either around the farmhouse or at the Collins'. Christine, 11, continued to explore the surrounding countryside.
