In 1867, a road was created at the high point close to the lake to connect two stagecoach stops, for people traveling from Fort Dodge to Sioux City.

Over succeeding decades, what became known as the unincorporated Twin Lakes area in rural Rockwell City and rural Manson developed into a place for people living around the lake to have docks and boats.

Today, after a five-year period of back and forth legal maneuverings without resolution, a group of 31 homeowners in what is known as the Gidels Addition is going public with their battle with the Calhoun County Board of Supervisors. At issue is whether the county or Gidels Addition landowners own the shoreline.

Todd Essing, who has compiled a lot of information from the county concerning attorney fees and court filings, said he is speaking on behalf of all the homeowners who agree it is time to publicly air the protracted battle, since the county in July began working with a third attorney.

Essing in early September said the county is not wisely spending taxpayer money. After obtaining documents through the Iowa open records law, he said at least $67,000 has been spent in attorney costs, and he is expecting some legal action by the county in the near future.

“They want a different answer with a third attorney,” Essing said. “For five years, we’ve been stonewalled.”

While this issue has played out in some Calhoun County Board of Supervisors meetings in recent years, that entity declined to give an update as to where things stand concerning Twin Lakes. Calhoun County Board of Supervisors Chairman Scott Jacobs, of Auburn, told The Messenger, “I have been advised by legal counsel that since this matter might go to court, I am not to comment at this time.”

Twin Lakes is not a town, but rather a Census Designated Place, Essing said the protracted dispute began when the county board wrote a letter to one of the Gidels Addition landowners with concerns over ownership of the shoreline.

If the county would win control of the shoreline where the 31 people live, it could conceivably open 1,500 feet of the land to public access for fishing, swimming and other uses. The county already has four other shorefront areas it publicly maintains, Essing noted.

In addition to the people living in homes adjacent to the lake, the Iowa Department of Natural Resources operates Twin Lakes State Park. Essing noted that the county board members have stated that IDNR “started all this.”

There have been a lot of machinations, and a lot of back and forth discussions, with some arcane legal assertions by both sides to get the matter settled.

There have been some public county board meetings, such as in November 2019, when Essing was optimistic a resolution was at hand. Essing, who is a retired Army officer and former mortgage banker, said that optimism soon thereafter faded.

The county at one point proposed a dock management plan. The Calhoun County Board of Supervisors have used an attorney from Algona and also an attorney found with the help of the Iowa State Association of Counties, and there has been no resolution over how many feet the width of easements on Twin Lakes Road should be. Some of the homeowners have retained their own attorneys.

Essing said some legal assertions by Calhoun County officials about the so-called “public trust” to support their position are offset by an Iowa Supreme Court ruling.

Essing cited what he sees as a key step in the Twin Lakes development in the original land patent for 40 acres that came from U.S, President James Buchanan in 1855 concerning Government Lot 2, which includes the shoreline and land upon which the 31 residents live.

“The patent starts the homeowners’ ownership,” Essing said. “This is the root of our title to the shorefront. We own the lake shorefront of our lots according to Iowa law. The county has no proof of ownership and has harassed the landowners for five long years with zero evidence.”

The ultimate resolution remains up in the air. Essing said the county board has told him the new attorney will seek a lawsuit for declaratory judgment.

“Most people around Calhoun County thought this was resolved. We’ve kept it quiet, trying to negotiate a common sense solution to agree to a 42-foot easement,” he said.