The Chronicles Of Grant County

Lake Roberts And Lake Roberts Heights
Part One

Lake Roberts in the Spring. (The photograph was provided courtesy of the U S Fish and Wildlife Service, June 3, 2016.)

Lake Roberts is located in the northern reaches of Grant County. The neighborhood of Lake Roberts is located to the west of the lake, while the neighborhood of Lake Roberts Heights is located to the east of the lake. Both neighborhoods and the lake are located along or near Route 35.

The waterbody, Lake Roberts, is within the Gila National Forest and was formed by damming Sapillo Creek. News reports indicated that the lake was dedicated on May 18, 1963. This lake was named in honor of an employee of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish (NMDGF): Austin Roberts.

Mr. Roberts and Ocie Gray, a fellow employee of the NMDGF, were both "…killed in a January 1960 plane crash while delivering hay to starving pronghorn on the snow-covered plains outside of Las Vegas, NM," according to a statement from the NMDGF. "Pilot Austin Roberts, 40, of Roswell, was a 14-year veteran of [the] NMDGF at the time of his death. A cause of the accident was never determined. Before joining NMDGF, Roberts served as a bomber pilot during World War II and survived 62 bombing runs and being shot down six times…Ocie Gray, 25, was a NMDGF biologist and a 1959 graduate of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces where a scholarship in his name is available to biology students."

The premium deer and elk hunts through the NMDGF are held in honor of these two men. "The two premium hunts were authorized by the New Mexico State Game Commission to provide the public an affordable chance at a high quality hunting experience," according to the NMDGF. "The hunt codes are DER-1-700 and ELK-1-700 and allow hunting with any big game sporting arm in any unit statewide, including [the] NMDGF's wildlife management areas and private land with written permission, anytime between Sept. 1, 2021 and Jan. 31, 2022. The hunts are available through the draw and are subject to quota (nonresident and outfitted applicants are extremely unlikely to draw)."

The Lake Roberts Census-Designated Place included 53 residents in both 2020 and 2010, according to the U S Census Bureau. Of the population, 12 people – 22.6% of the residents – self-identified as Hispanics. There were 58 homes in Lake Roberts in 2020, according to the U S Census Bureau. Almost half of all houses – 28 homes – were vacant; this represented 48.3% of the residences in this community.

Repairs and improvements were undertaken several years ago on the dam that created Lake Roberts. The costs for this work were detailed by the auditors for the State of New Mexico Department of Game and Fish in the audit for the year ending June 30, 2015. The audit noted that $2,284,434.74 was the amount in the price agreement with ASI Construction, Inc. of Pueblo West, Colorado, for the Lake Roberts Dam project.

The next edition of The Chronicles Of Grant County will include additional information about Lake Roberts and Lake Roberts Heights.

Lake Roberts was named after Austin Roberts (left) of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish. The photo to the right is of fellow employee, Ocie Gray. Both photographs were taken on the day of the men's deaths. (The photographs were provided courtesy of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, January 4, 1960.)

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© 2021 Richard McDonough