Roberts Prairie is one of the smaller ones and was unnamed on the original survey. It lies across the county line in section 5 of Lake Creek Township. It was named for William Augustus Roberts of the Corinth family when he moved this far west just before the county division. His home seems to have been on the Franklin side of the prairie, for he was called as grand juror for the next circuit court in Benton on June 6, 1843.
William Rufus Roberts bought a part of his uncle’s land on Roberts prairie, and there he moved with his young wife Elizabeth Ann Shepherd, daughter of the preacher at Zion church. Mr. Roberts died at this new home November 8, 1845. He was going deer hunting, and his gun went off as he mounted his horse. His wife and two children were standing in the doorway, and saw the fatal accident. One of the children was John Leander Roberts, who became the merchant of Corinth.
John Crawford, Frederick F. Duncan, and Cyrus Campbell as commissioners of Franklin county court laid off a road district June 7, 1839. They ordered that Henry Yost be reappointed supervisor in Roberts prairie road district, and bounded the area from the crossing of the Frankfort-Golconda road and the Lake fork of Pond creek, thence south along the road, east to the , east to the county line, north, and then west so as to include Robert Worthen in the road district.
After the division, the Williamson county commissioners’ court ordered that a road be laid out from Marion to intersect the Frankfort-Sarahville-Golconda road at the south edge of Roberts prairie. This order was recorded October 19, 1839 at the second session of the court.
Another road from Marion was routed north past Elijah N. Spiller’s and William Pike’s land to join the Golconda road at the south part of Roberts prairie. William Pikes land became part of the site of Johnston City.
(Extracted from Pioneer Folks and Places, Barbara Barr Hubbs, 1939 which is on sale at the Williamson County Museum)