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Cleburne County was established on December 6, 1866, by an act of the state legislature. It is named for Maj. Gen. Patrick R. Cleburne, CSA.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.