Cleburne County


Talladega National Forest in Alabama covers 375,000 acres Talladega National ForestLocated in the northeastern area of the state, Cleburne County contains large portions of the Talladega National Forest. During the nineteenth century, the area was a leading producer of valuable minerals, including gold, copper, and mica. Today, Cleburne County's many parks and lakes offer visitors abundant outdoor activities. The county is governed by an elected four-member commission.

· Founding Date: December 6, 1866
· Area: 561 square miles
· Population: 14,700 (2006 Census Bureau estimate)
· Major Waterways: Tallapoosa River
· Major Highways: I- 20, U.S. 78, U.S. 431
· County Seat: Heflin
· Largest City: Heflin

History 

Edwardsville became the first Cleburne County seat in Cleburne County CourthouseCleburne County was created by an act of the Alabama State Legislature on December 6, 1866, from portions of Randolph, Talladega, and Calhoun counties. The county is named for Confederate general Patrick Cleburne, of Arkansas, who was killed at the Battle of Franklin in 1864. Cleburne County is located on what was once Creek and Cherokee Indian land. The first settlers came to the area in the 1820s and named the town of Edwardsville as the county seat. Settlement in the area remained sparse until the 1830s, when gold was discovered in the vicinity of Arbacoochee and Chulafinnee in the southern part of the county. By 1836, some 5,000 miners had moved to the area in hopes of striking it rich. The discovery of gold in California in 1849 eclipsed mining in Cleburne County, but it is estimated that more than $1 million in gold was mined out of its streams. Copper and mica were also found in the southern part of the county in the late nineteenth century, but little effort was made to capitalize on the discovery.

Fruithurst, in central Cleburne County, was the site FruithurstIn the late-nineteenth century, a winery in the town of Fruithurst briefly became a popular tourist destination. The winery failed, however, when disease wiped out the grape harvest in the early twentieth century. In 1882, the Georgia-Pacific Railroad was extended from Atlanta to the town of Heflin, in the west-central part of the county. In 1905 the county held an election to decide whether to move the county seat from Edwardsville to Heflin. The election results and a subsequent Alabama Supreme Court ruling favored Heflin, which remains the county seat today.

Major Cities and Demographics 

Heflin, located in western Cleburne County, became the HeflinAt the time of the 2000 Census, Cleburne County recorded a population of 14,123, a 10.9 percent increase from the 1990 Census. According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the 2006 population was 14,700, with 95.3 percent White, 3.8 percent African American, and 1.8 percent Hispanic. In 2004 the median household income was $34,128, compared with $37,062 for the remainder of the state. In 1999 the per capita income was $14,762, compared with $18,189 for the state. The county seat, Heflin, had an estimated population of 3,308 in 2005. Other population centers include Ranburne (479), Fruithurst (285), and Edwardsville (194).

Economy 

Cleburne County was largely agricultural during the nineteenth century. Farmers grew corn, oats, wheat, and cotton and raised cattle. During the 1830s, the discovery of gold in the southern half of the county brought thousands of miners to the area, but the enterprise failed when miners left for the California gold rush of 1849. During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, several economic ventures, including copper and mica mining and winemaking, were attempted, but they failed due to poor transportation and agricultural disease. The heavy forestation of the county made it ideal for the timber and pulpwood industries, which soon moved into the area. In the mid-1950s Tyson Foods Inc. constructed a large poultry-processing plant in the area, making the county the "Broiler Capital of Alabama." In September 2006, part of the plant was destroyed by fire, however, and its future remains uncertain. Other manufacturers include Heflin Chenille, the second largest producer of bathrobes, and Sewell Manufacturing, which produces men's and women's suits.

Cleburne County is heavily forested, making it ideal Cleburne County LoggerAccording to the 2000 Census, 21.3 percent of the Cleburne County workforce was engaged in management and professional occupations, 10.6 percent were in the service industry, 21 percent worked in sales and office jobs, 16.6 percent were engaged in construction and extraction, 28.8 percent worked in production and transportation, and less than 2 percent in agriculture and fishing. The Cleburne County School System currently employs approximately 160 teachers who serve more than 2,600 students in eight schools.

Geography 

Cleburne County is 62nd in size among Alabama Cleburne County MapComprising approximately 561 square miles, Cleburne County lies in the northeastern area of the state, wholly within the Piedmont physiographic section. It is bounded to the north by Cherokee County, to the east by the state of Georgia, to the south by Randolph and Clay counties, and to the west by Talladega and Calhoun counties. The western portion of the county is located within the Talladega National Forest.

The Tallapoosa River runs along the southeastern part of the county. Interstate 20 is Cleburne County's major transportation route, running east-west through the southern part of the county. U.S. 78 and U.S 431 are the county's other routes.

Events and Places of Interest 

Cheaha State Park and ten other Alabama state Cheaha State ParkThe Shoal Creek Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest covers a large portion of the western half of Cleburne County and provides scenic views, hiking, camping, and horseback riding, and the 102-mile Pinhoti Trail ends in Cleburne County. In addition, portions of Cheaha State Park are located in Cleburne County. Built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, the park features a lodge, chalets, cabins, fishing, camping, and hiking trails. High Rock Lake and Morgan Lake, located north of Heflin, are ideal for catfish, bass, and bream fishing. The Parks and Recreation Department of Heflin hosts the annual Outdoor Jamboree in early fall, which features live music, a beauty pageant, food, arts and crafts, an archery tournament, and a children's carnival.

Additional Resources  

Heritage of Cleburne County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala.: Heritage Publishing Consultants, Inc., 1998.

Stewart, Mrs. Frank Ross. Alabama's Cleburne County: A History of Cleburne County and Her People. Centre, Ala.: Stewart University Press, 1982.

Patricia Hoskins Morton
Auburn University


Published August 29, 2007
Last updated December 10, 2009