Roberts Family Shares 130 Years of Palo Verde History

Roberts Family Shares 130 Years of Palo Verde History

By Edna (Hood) Roberts

In 1885, the first homestead in Palo Verde, AZ, was filed by Garrett Alexander ROBERDS and his wife, Elizabeth ROBERDS. They, along with their children, John, Oscar, Moses, William, Garrett, Laura, Nancy and Elizabeth, came from Trinidad, Colorado by covered wagon to Palo Verde, Arizona. They were herding cattle and horses along with their covered wagon. They followed the Gila River to the point where it joins with the Hassayampa River and decided to homestead the area between two buttes. When the papers were filed for the homestead, the name ROBERDS had been misspelled as ROBERTS. Since the capitol of Arizona at the time was in Prescott, Arizona, it was about a four day ride to go back to Prescott to change their name on the homestead papers. So, the family decided it was easier to change their name to ROBERTS, which they did.

Their homestead was situated between two buttes, that are now known as Robbins Butte and Powers Butte. The Robbins Butte was originally Roberts Butte, but was mapped in error as Robbins Butte. During the next few years following 1885, the Gila River became a raging river during the major rainstorms on the desert. Since there were no dams on the Salt River, the Gila River or the Agua Fria River, the floods were devastating to the Roberts homestead. They were flooded multiple times and sometimes escaping with only their lives. In about the 1890's, they made the trip back to Prescott to change their homestead location. They settled on a spot that was located just north of the current Palo Verde Elementary School. The family prospered and grew in Palo Verde. John Gideon Roberts, the son of Garrett Roberds, kept the homestead north of the school. In 1897, John G. Roberts, filed his "pitchfork" brand with the Territory of Arizona, Maricopa County, Arizona Livestock Board. The brand is still owned by Tom Roberts. The "Roberts' Pitchfork brand was one of the first brands registered in the Territory of Arizona. The homestead property, the ranch grazing lands and the brand has been handed down from generation to generation. Garrett's son, William Ross Roberts; William Ross's son, Richard (Bud) Roberts; Richard (Bud) Roberts's son, Tom Roberts; continued farming the homestead. In 1970, Tom Roberts and his wife, Edna, bought part of the old Bruner dairy farm located at the intersection of Bruner Road and Old Highway 80. Tom and Edna now live on part of the farm that they purchased from the Bruner homestead. In the 1990's Bud's sister, Marie (Roberts) Parker and her husband Gene Parker took over farming the homestead property. Gene and Marie Parker's daughter, Arlene McLaughlin and her husband, Bill McLaughlin, are now living on and farming the homestead property. Tom and Edna Roberts still retain the ranch grazing lands and the pitchfork brand.

Tom Roberts and Arlene McLaughlin are just two of the remaining descendants of Garrett and Elizabeth Roberds, that are still currently living in Palo Verde, Arizona. Tom Roberts is the only remaining descendant of the ROBERDS family in Palo Verde with the name of ROBERTS. There has been a member of the ROBERTS family living CONTINUALLY in Palo Verde, Arizona for the last 130 years.

Edna (Hood) Roberts, moved to Palo Verde at the age of 10. Both Tom and Edna Roberts attended and graduated from the Palo Verde Elementary School and Buckeye Union High School.

During the early 1900's thru the early 1970's, the community of Palo Verde consisted of a school, a post office, a grocery store, a diner, a motor hotel, a service station with a garage and full time mechanic, a rodeo arena and a church. Most of these amenities soon withered and closed up after the Interstate 10 freeway was opened. The traffic on Old US Highway 80 trickled down to almost nothing for the small towns all along US Highway 80. Remaining today are the school, the post office and the church. The Palo Verde Baptist Church was founded in 1903. The church is still standing today and has never shut its doors except for the flu epidemic in 1917, when it closed for a few days. I believe that the Palo Verde Baptist Church is the only church in the state of Arizona which still owns and operates it own cemetery. The church history is well documented in the church library, along with a quilt which was made by the church members who were there at the time of the 100 year celebration. The people of Palo Verde continued on farming, ranching, and living a fantastic life. Today, the Palo Verde Elementary School and the surrounding area just keeps on keeping on.