"Annexation moves a boundary line. It does not grant zoning and it does not approve any project." The City of Linn Creek posted that line in late September after its annexation notice drew a wave of comments on Facebook, and LakeExpo reprinted the full statement.
The petition is big. Mo Lake Development wants 1,931 acres brought into city limits. According to KRCG's report from the Sept. 30 public hearing, that would take Linn Creek from 832 acres of total land to 2,763. What the vote actually decides is much smaller than that number. This month the city settles where its boundary sits. What could be built inside it is a separate decision, made later through its own public process. So October in Linn Creek mostly runs the way it always has, centered on the Camden County Museum at 206 S. Locust Street. The museum is also where the town keeps the record of the last time Linn Creek changed its shape.
A Town That Has Redrawn Itself Before
The first Linn Creek was the Camden County seat. It had a business district, residential streets and more than 100 buildings. As the valley became floodplain, those structures were removed, burned or moved, and the townsite now sits beneath Linn Creek Cove. LakeExpo reports that the lake's waters filled the valley in 1931. County records held by the State Historical Society of Missouri show that voters had already moved the county seat to Camdenton in the 1930 general election. Camdenton was laid out to replace a town that was about to go largely underwater.
The museum keeps a large collection of Old Linn Creek photographs and sells a booklet called Before the Dam Waters, which tells the old town's story in text and pictures. It also holds a 500-image collection of Bagnell Dam construction photographs by George P. Jessup, which shows the project that made the move necessary.
The developer has made the same connection. In a Sept. 24 message to LakeExpo, Blake Hodits of Mo Lake Development described his request for "approximately 1,931 acres" and added: "Ironically the same year that old linn creek was flooded."
What the October Vote Settles, and What It Leaves Open
The land is part of a 2,368-acre tract behind the Camdenton Walmart, near the intersection of Highway 54 and Highway 5. Hodits told LakeExpo it took him about five years to buy it. An earlier site plan from spring 2026 included a data center of about 500,000 square feet. That drew strong opposition and led to new city and county ordinances. Hodits has since said the project is going forward without one. He had first sought annexation into Camdenton under a 2022 pre-annexation agreement. That agreement was cancelled in July. He gave utilities as a main reason for choosing Linn Creek, since the city's wastewater treatment facility sits right along the property's eastern boundary.
Here is how the decision splits, based on the statements from the city and the developer:
| Question | Where it stands |
|---|---|
| Does the vote change the city limit? | Yes. 1,931 acres would join Linn Creek. |
| Does it include neighboring parcels? | No. The developer says the request covers only his property. |
| Does it approve zoning or a project? | No. The city says no zoning application has been filed. |
| Who handles future zoning? | Linn Creek uses the Camden County Unified Land Use Code as its zoning. |
| What happens before any use is approved? | A separate zoning process with its own published notice and public hearing. |
| Data centers? | Linn Creek approved a one-year moratorium in August. |
At the hearing, Hodits said the plans were not final. "The mission is the only thing that's locked in. Everything else is flexible," he told the room. The concept map he showed earlier in 2026 includes single-family housing areas, luxury homes, cabins, mixed residential development and apartments. That map is a concept, not a filed application.
KRCG reported that many people at the hearing worried about what could follow once the moratorium expires. Others backed annexation as a way to grow while keeping control over development. Mayor Jeff Davis said he supports it. The Lake Sun's Oct. 6 coverage summarized the questions raised as future development, utilities, data centers and local control.
KRCG reported that the board was set to vote in October. The city's posted calendar lists regular board meetings on Oct. 1 and Oct. 15, but it doesn't mark either one as the annexation vote. The city says the petition is on file at City Hall, 102 East Valley Drive, and anyone with questions is welcome to stop in.
The Calendar the Vote Doesn't Touch
Whatever the board decides, nothing changes on the ground this month. The real October schedule is mostly the museum's, and the Lake of the Ozarks CVB's October 2026 events flier lists it alongside the rest of the lake's events. Here's what's left after today, Oct. 7:
- Oct. 10, 7 to 9 p.m. An Evening with Helen Russell & Co at the Camden County Museum.
- Oct. 14, 21 and 28, 3 to 6 p.m. The museum's Wednesday market.
- Oct. 16 and 17, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Apple Butter Days & Fall Festival at the museum.
- Oct. 17, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Missouri Forget-Me-Not's Fall Festival at 1025 Heritage Road, on Apple Butter Days' second day.
- Oct. 24, 6 to 8 p.m. The city's Trunk or Treat at 102 E. Valley Drive. It's free and happens rain or shine, with face painting, treats, a haunted house, food trucks and music.
Trunk or Treat is at City Hall, the same building where the annexation petition sits on file.
Apple Butter Days, Then and Now
The 2026 listing for Apple Butter Days is short: lots of crafters, craft demonstrations, apple butter and apple pies, free admission, and a chili and soup lunch for a donation. Earlier previews describe more of the tradition. A past LakeExpo festival roundup described apples and sugar simmering in a large copper kettle, with visitors invited to watch or take a turn stirring, plus craft booths, a quilt raffle and bluegrass or folk music. That same piece called the edition it covered the 14th annual, so the festival has been running for well over a decade. The museum takes booth questions at 573-873-2990.
How Long the Wednesday Market Runs
The museum's Farm Market & Bazaar fills the building and, in good weather, the lawn, with plants, vegetables and crafts. This season it runs from 3 to 6 p.m. Older listings gave 3 to 7, so a saved post from a few years ago may show the wrong closing time. In 2020, LakeExpo listed the market ending on Oct. 7. This year, Funlake's calendar shows a market date as late as Dec. 16. The museum's own calendar currently lists dates through Oct. 28, so the December date is best confirmed with the museum before the holidays.
Around the Edges
Downtown, The Lowlander Gastro Pub is at 111 East Valley Drive, on the same street as City Hall. It opened after a Camdenton Chamber ribbon cutting, and the mayor described it to a regional board in May 2025 as a pub serving a twist on traditional American cuisine.
On the highway, MoDOT's work list for the week of Sept. 7 to 13 included nightly resurfacing on U.S. 54 from Route Y near Linn Creek to Route 5 in Camdenton, with one lane open and flaggers directing traffic. That was a single week's schedule, and MoDOT's weekly lists are where to find whatever comes next on that stretch.
At Susan Ellis Real Estate Group, we're following the annexation vote and the zoning steps that would come after it. If you'd like to talk through what a boundary change near Highways 54 and 5 does and doesn't mean for property in and around Linn Creek, we're glad to sit down and go through it with you.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.