Twin Brothers Lakes (Johns Homestead)

From the air

Aerial photos show no lake in 1940 and two lakes by 1955. In the 2026 aerial the lower lake is drawn down to small pools, with a structure and rubble at its dam.

First seen

In 1940 the site is a wooded stream bottom in farm fields; by 1955 both lakes are built and full.

Dam in the lidar

The south dam is an earth embankment about 13 to 14 feet tall, with a crest near 987.5 feet. It is lower toward the east, where the ground below it rises. The crest dips to lake level near the outlet, which looks like an old spillway. The 2024 lidar shows no breach.

Low water and drawdowns

• 2026 (probably winter): The lower lake is mostly empty. A muddy pool remains at the south end and a small pool at the north end, with exposed lakebed and a channel between. A structure and rubble sit at the south dam outlet, and a staging area is on the west shore. This fits dam work, though the photo cannot show the Army Corps review itself.
• 2023 (upper pond only): The upper pond's northwest part is a muddy flat with a small channel, and only a small pool remains by the dam. The same area was open water in 2022 and again in 2024, so the low was temporary. The cause is unknown.

Read from aerial photos taken between 1940 and 2026 and from DeKalb County 2024 lidar, then checked by a second reading. How the photos were read.

History

Twin Brothers Lakes are two dammed lakes in Johns Homestead Park, a 49.4-acre City of Tucker park along Lawrenceville Highway. The park's house, dated to about 1829, is called one of the oldest in DeKalb County. A stream runs north to south through the park and ends in the lakes. One dam sits between the two lakes and another at the north end. Who built them and when is not in any source found. A 2011 notice says people once paid a small fee to fish there. The city says the dams are part of DeKalb County's stormwater system, and its park page says they are being redesigned under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review. 123

Who built it

Not documented in any source found. The lakes are impounded by two dams, and the park's stream runs north to south into them. Neither the builder nor the purpose (fishing, farm pond, estate feature) has been located. The 2011 Patch item says people once paid a small fee to fish them, so recreational fishing was at least a later use. 123

Timeline

1. ca. 1829The City of Tucker dates the Johns Homestead house to approximately 1829 and calls it one of the oldest houses in DeKalb County. The lakes' date is not documented. 1
2. Before 2011 (decades unknown)"For years back in the day" people paid a small fee to fish the lakes, per a Tucker Patch notice. The operator and the years of this fee fishing are not documented. 3
3. August 2011Tucker Patch (posted Aug. 3, 2011) says the property has 'gone downhill' with few visitors and old garbage, and that the Tucker Civic Association scheduled a Rivers Alive cleanup focused on Twin Brothers Lakes for Oct. 8, 9 a.m. to noon. 3
4. June 2020InTucker magazine reports two dams at Twin Brothers Lakes, one between the lakes and one at the north end, part of DeKalb County's stormwater system and maintained by DeKalb Watershed. 2
5. June 2020Another InTucker article says users of Johns Homestead and Smoke Rise parks had to walk down a busy state highway or park offsite, and that a new on-site parking lot and a pavilion were planned. 5
6. Undated (city park page, checked September 2026)The city says the dams are being redesigned and are under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review. New neighborhood access points and much of the park master plan are to follow once the dams are reconfigured. 1

Names

Twin Brothers Lake

Singular form used on the City of Tucker park page, which describes the dammed Twin Brothers Lake at the end of the park's stream. 1

Twin Brothers Lakes

Plural form used by the City of Tucker's InTucker magazine (June 2020) and the 2011 Tucker Patch cleanup notice. 23

The dam

Two dams: one between the two lakes and one at the north end (InTucker, June 2020). The city says dams like these are part of DeKalb County's stormwater system, so maintenance and improvements fall to DeKalb Watershed, not the City of Tucker. The park page says the dams are being redesigned and are under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers review. The dams do not appear in the National Inventory of Dams, so no height, hazard class, year built, or spillway data is available from that source. Georgia Safe Dams status was not confirmed. No contract numbers were found. 124

Around the lake

Water

A stream runs through the park from north to south and ends in the dammed Twin Brothers Lake (City of Tucker park page). The stream's name and watershed were not identified in the sources found.

Before 1861

The house is dated to about 1829, which puts the property in DeKalb's early settlement period. The park page says the city plans a historical study of the existing buildings to test National Register of Historic Places eligibility. No mills, roads or land lots tied to the lakes were found.

Visiting

Getting there

Public park owned and run by the City of Tucker, open in daylight hours, with a 12-space parking lot listed, plus hiking, fishing, picnic tables and lake access. Per the city, Twin Brothers Lake can be reached via Stapp Road, which dead-ends at a gate. The homestead is closed to the public. The city says new neighborhood access points will follow the dam reconfiguration.

What you can see

Two dammed lakes with wildlife the city lists as beaver, songbirds, owls, waterfowl, woodpeckers, turtles, several fish species and a heron rookery, in an undeveloped park with trails. The dams, one between the lakes and one at the north end, are part of the lake landscape. Historical markers at the park were not checked.

Look, don’t dig. Parks, cemeteries and preserves are off limits to digging and collecting, and private land needs the owner’s permission to enter.

Open questions

• Who built the two dams, in what year, and why? A mill, farm pond, estate feature or fee-fishing business are all possible; no source found says.
• Who ran the fee fishing, and in which decades?
• Which stream do the lakes impound? Is it a named tributary, and which watershed does it drain to?
• Are the dams regulated under Georgia's Safe Dams Act? They are not in the National Inventory of Dams.
• What does the Army Corps review and the DeKalb Watershed redesign cover, what are the dam heights, and are there public contract or permit numbers?
• Is the house's ca. 1829 date backed by deeds or a survey, and which Johns family built it (the city's page gives no biography)?
• Did the Johns property include mill or farm lots of pre-1860 land lots that connect to the lakes?

Know something? Write to hello@historyunderfoot.org. Family papers, photos and deeds often settle these.

Where to look next

• University of Georgia 1938-40 DeKalb County aerial photographs: check whether the two lakes and dams already appear, which would date them before about 1938. (UGA Libraries / Digital Library of Georgia aerial photograph collections)
• USGS 7.5-minute topographic map editions for the Tucker area (1950s to 1970s): compare when the ponds first show, and how many. (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection (topoView))
• DeKalb County deed and plat records for the Johns property (Lawrenceville Hwy and Stapp Road), including any fee-fishing or lake-related conveyances. (DeKalb County Superior Court Clerk, real estate records)
• Newspaper ads or stories on fishing at the Johns place or 'Twin Brothers Lakes'. (Georgia Historic Newspapers (Digital Library of Georgia))
• Special collections and local-history files on Tucker and the Johns family. (DeKalb History Center archives, Decatur)
• Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District public notices and permit files for the Twin Brothers dam redesign, plus DeKalb Watershed capital-project records. (USACE Savannah District Regulatory; DeKalb County Watershed Management)
• Georgia Historic Resources survey files and any National Register eligibility study for Johns Homestead. (Georgia DNR Historic Preservation Division (GNAHRGIS); City of Tucker Parks and Recreation)

Sources

1. Johns Homestead Park (City of Tucker Parks & Recreation) City of Tucker
2. Tucker's Lakes Held in Check By Dams (InTucker, June 2020) City of Tucker
3. Keeping Tucker's Lakes, Creeks and Rivers Alive (Aug. 2011) Tucker Patch
4. National Inventory of Dams public FeatureServer, queried by point and by name (no Twin Brothers or Johns Homestead record within 3-5 km) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
5. Projects in the Parks (InTucker, June 2020) City of Tucker