Cleburne County, Alabama

Cleburne County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 census, the population was 14,972. Its county seat is Heflin. Its name is in honor of Patrick R. Cleburne of Arkansas who rose to the rank of major general in the Confederate States Army. The eastern side of the county borders the state of Georgia.HistoryCleburne County was established on December 6, 1866, by an act of the state legislature. The county was made from territory in Benton (now Calhoun), Randolph, and Talladega counties. In 1867, Edwardsville was made the county seat. An election was held in 1905 to move the county seat to Heflin. The result of that election, which agreed to move the seat, was appealed to the Supreme Court, who decided on July 1, 1906, to uphold the election results. Heflin is still the county seat. Heflin was at one point thought of as a hub for nearby farmers to send their cotton. Shortly after the Civil War, a group of northern investors created the town of Fruithurst in Cleburne County as part of a wine-growing project. Fruithurst became a boomtown shortly thereafter.GeographyAccording to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and (0.2%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Alabama by land area and second-largest by total area. Cleburne County is home to Alabama's highest natural point on Cheaha Mountain which is part of the southernmost mountain range in the Blue Ridge Mountains.