The Cleburne County Alabama map is best read as four connected landscapes: Heflin’s I-20/U.S. 78 transportation core, the northern Edwardsville–Fruithurst corridor, the Ranburne–Muscadine side along the Georgia border, and the Cheaha–Talladega National Forest mountains in the southwest. Roads, ridges, streams, and the state line matter more here than a dense network of towns.
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Download the Cleburne County map
Open the article graphic as a JPG when you need the county outline, selected communities, and the relationship between highways, mountains, and the Georgia border outside the webpage.
- Map file: Cleburne County map
- File format: JPG
- Coverage: County boundary and selected labeled places
Quick Facts
| State | Alabama |
|---|---|
| County | Cleburne County |
| County seat | Heflin |
| 2025 population estimate | 15,970 |
| 2020 land area | 560.11 sq mi |
| Main highways | I-20, U.S. 78, AL 9, AL 46 |
| Major natural features | Cheaha Mountain, Talladega National Forest, Terrapin Creek |
| Incorporated municipalities | Heflin, Edwardsville, Fruithurst, Ranburne |
| File format | JPG |
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates 15,970 residents as of July 1, 2025, up 6.1 percent from the 2020 estimates base. The 2020 census counted 15,056 people on 560.11 square miles of land, for a density of 26.9 people per square mile. Population is spread among Heflin, small municipalities, rural border communities, and forested mountain country rather than concentrated in one continuous urban area.
What the Map Shows
Heflin is the county seat and the strongest transportation center. Interstate 20 passes along the south side of the city on the Birmingham–Atlanta corridor, while U.S. 78 runs through town. Heflin’s official history notes that commercial and industrial development expanded around the interstate exits after I-20 was built, so the city functions as both the governmental center and the county’s main regional-access point.
Edwardsville and Fruithurst occupy different parts of the northern corridor. Edwardsville served as the earlier county seat before government moved to Heflin in 1906, while Fruithurst lies farther northeast toward Georgia. Reading them with U.S. 78 reveals how the county’s old administrative geography and its present transportation geography overlap but do not match perfectly.
Ranburne lies near the eastern Georgia line, and Muscadine provides a southeastern reference near the Tallapoosa drainage and the Haralson County side of Georgia. These communities are less tied to the interstate-centered Heflin pattern; local highways, creek valleys, and state-line crossings have a larger role in everyday spatial relationships.
ALDOT’s April 2026 functional-classification map adds many smaller places, including Palestine, Borden Springs, Oak Level, Grantley, Liberty Hill, Mars Hill, and Hollis Crossroads. Those names are important because they show that the wide rural spaces between the main labels contain a substantial local-road and settlement network.
County Layout and Location
Cleburne County lies at Alabama’s northeastern edge. Cherokee County is to the north, Calhoun County to the west, Clay County to the southwest, and Randolph County to the southeast. Georgia’s Polk and Haralson counties form the eastern side. In the Ranburne, Fruithurst, and Muscadine areas, nearby Georgia communities can be as geographically relevant as towns deeper inside Alabama.
I-20 crosses the southern half east-west and connects Heflin directly with the Georgia line. U.S. 78 extends northeast through Heflin, Edwardsville, and Fruithurst. Alabama 9 heads south from the Heflin area toward the Clay County mountain country, while Alabama 46 provides an eastward connection toward Ranburne. These routes divide the county into a fast interstate corridor and several slower rural branches.
The southwest is controlled by topography rather than a dense road grid. Talladega National Forest, Cheaha Mountain, and associated ridges occupy a broad mountain block along the Clay and Calhoun county sides. Alabama 281 and forest roads follow the terrain, so travel through this area depends on ridge and valley access rather than direct straight-line connections.
Local Context
Cleburne County was created in 1866 from territory in Calhoun, Randolph, and Talladega counties. Heflin’s municipal information identifies Edwardsville, Fruithurst, Heflin, and Ranburne as the county’s incorporated municipalities. Edwardsville was the original county seat, but the seat moved to Heflin in 1906 as the railroad town became the stronger commercial center.
Heflin itself developed around an 1882 railroad stop connecting the Atlanta and Birmingham directions and incorporated in 1886. City records describe cotton and lumber shipments as important early rail traffic, followed by U.S. 78 improvements in the 1930s and later growth around Interstate 20. Those successive transportation layers explain why the modern map concentrates several major corridors in and around Heflin.
Cheaha State Park straddles the Clay–Cleburne county line, and Cheaha Mountain rises to 2,407 feet, the highest point in Alabama. The park and surrounding Talladega National Forest create a large protected mountain landscape southwest of Heflin. Even when the straight-line distance is short, access follows mountain roads and forest corridors rather than a dense local street network.
Terrapin Creek is a second major physical-geography clue. Geological Survey of Alabama work describes a watershed of about 284 square miles spanning Cleburne, Calhoun, and Cherokee counties plus a small part of Georgia. Tributaries include South Fork Terrapin, Mountain, Camp, Hurricane, and Little Terrapin creeks. South Fork Terrapin alone drains about 18 square miles of Talladega National Forest in Cleburne County.
The drainage pattern changes across the county’s ridges. Terrapin Creek collects water from much of the northern and central mountain-and-ridge country, while the Muscadine side lies closer to the Tallapoosa River system. These separate drainage directions make the ridges functional watershed divides and help explain why road alignments often follow valleys rather than cutting directly across the terrain.
Ways to Use This Map
Start at Heflin, then follow U.S. 78 northeast through Edwardsville and Fruithurst, Alabama 46 east toward Ranburne, and I-20 toward the Georgia line. After those transportation corridors are placed, set the Cheaha–Talladega National Forest block apart in the southwest. The contrast between the interstate center, border communities, and mountain land becomes immediately apparent.
For physical geography, compare Cheaha Mountain with the Terrapin Creek watershed rather than treating both as generic outdoor features. For local history, connect Edwardsville’s former county-seat role with Heflin’s 1906 takeover. For border geography, place Ranburne, Fruithurst, and Muscadine against Polk and Haralson counties in Georgia. Each approach exposes a Cleburne County-specific relationship.
- Trace the Heflin–Edwardsville–Fruithurst corridor along U.S. 78.
- Use Ranburne and Muscadine to orient the Georgia-facing side.
- Read Cheaha Mountain and Talladega National Forest as a separate southwestern mountain zone.
- Compare Terrapin Creek drainage with the Tallapoosa-facing southeastern side.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the map show every city and community?
No. ALDOT’s 2026 county sheet identifies additional localities such as Palestine, Borden Springs, Oak Level, Grantley, Liberty Hill, Mars Hill, and Hollis Crossroads. When a project depends on county roads or small rural communities, that highway map is a better companion to the simplified article graphic.
Can the map be printed?
The JPG can be printed from ordinary image or document software. For a large enlargement, check the source pixel dimensions first if the smaller labels or irregular mountain-side boundary need to remain crisp.
What does the download include?
The download opens the Cleburne County graphic as a standalone JPG. Saving the file directly keeps navigation, advertising areas, and article text out of the image, leaving a clean map file for document placement or offline storage.
Related Alabama County Maps
Sources
- Cleburne County official website
- City of Heflin official history
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts
- ALDOT 2026 Cleburne County functional-classification map
- U.S. Forest Service Alabama Wilderness information
- Geological Survey of Alabama Terrapin Creek watershed study
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