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C+History
History · Heflin

Heflin’s post office opened in 1868, and 3 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns · #92 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it

Most of Heflin was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Its Register listings are the Cleburne County Courthouse, the John Morgan House and the Cleburne County High School. Below: maps from 1930 on and the census since 1890.

1868first post office
3on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
Quick answers

How Heflin began

When was Heflin founded?

1868

The Heflin post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1882.

First census: 383 in 18902020 census: 3,431158 years

How historic is Heflin?

C+

More historic than 41% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Heflin post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1882.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Heflin’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Heflin is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #92 of 187 in Alabama. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

C+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Heflin’s overall grade.
Founding era1868, from the first post office: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 19405.1% of homes (±3.9) · typical AL town 3.2% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register3 listings, 8.7 per 10,000 residents · typical AL town 2.7 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 41%
NewerOlder
Alabama towns of 2,500+ (187)Ahead of 51%

Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Heflin’s 8.7 sits near the middle of its state (65% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 3 listings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.9 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1882 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.

Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Heflin’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Heflin are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Heflin’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Heflin’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Heflin came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Heflin.

Read it all →

Heflin was first settled in 1882 as a station on the railroad line from Atlanta. The town quickly grew and was incorporated in 1886. Until 1905, the County Seat of Cleburne County had been located at Edwardsville. In 1905, an election was held to move the county seat from Edwardsville to Heflin. The election results favored Heflin and were appealed to and upheld by the Alabama Supreme Court on July 1, 1906.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Heflin, 1868 to 1967

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1868Post officeThe Heflin post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1906Born herePaul D. Adams is born here
  5. 1936BuiltCleburne County High School is built
  6. 1942Born hereCharlie Brown is born here
  7. 1967On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Heflin, decade by decade

Today17 recent
Lake Reflections2014Lake ReflectionsLake2014LakeLake Cahulga Reservoir2014Lake Cahulga ReservoirKojacks Variety Store2014Kojacks Variety StoreKojack's Store2014Kojack's StoreHeflin City Park2014Heflin City ParkFishing Pier2014Fishing PierFishing Lake Cahulga2014Fishing Lake CahulgaEastward View Lake2014Eastward View LakeDrive Around The Lake2014Drive Around The LakeDowntown2014DowntownAutumn On The Lake2014Autumn On The LakeA View Across The Lake2014A View Across The LakeHeflin, Alabama2012Heflin, AlabamaStreet scene2011Street scenePostcardMountain scene on U.S. 78 near2011Mountain scene on U.S. 78 nearPostcardFirst Methodist Church2011First Methodist ChurchPostcard
On the map

Heflin on the map, 1967 to 2001

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Heflin. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Heflin on the 1967 USGS mapHeflin on the 1975 USGS mapHeflin on the 1980 USGS mapHeflin on the 2001 USGS map1967Heflin sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Heflin.

Every building

Heflin, building by building, 1930

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a sheet.

Heflin fire insurance map, 1930, sheet 11930Sheet 1 of 5
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

On the National Register

3 historic places in Heflin

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. Boundary changes and added documentation are counted with their listing.

places listed
3
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
3
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Cleburne County Courthouse
Cleburne County CourthouseJohn Morgan HouseCleburne County High School, built 1936
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical1
Victorian1
Cleburne County CourthouseNeo-Classical
John Morgan HouseVictorian
All 3 listings
Cleburne County High SchoolBuilding · listed 2018

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Heflin, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5001900192019401960198020002020Peak: 3,480

Between 383 and 3,480 people in every census since 1890.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Heflin’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Heflin

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Paul D. AdamsAmerican general officer · b. 1906
Charlie BrownAmerican football defensive back (b. 1942) · b. 1942
Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Heflin’s post office has been open since 1868.

Gone or out of use
Hale SchoolschoolHeflin Grammar SchoolschoolHoneycuttlocaleVaughn Milllocale
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Heflin
BlackEvans ChapelHappy HillHeflinNew Harmony

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Heflin’s history

What year was Heflin founded?

The Heflin post office opened in 1868, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1882.

How does Heflin rank for history?

Heflin is more historic than 41% of U.S. towns, #92 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Heflin?

Three places: the Cleburne County Courthouse (listed 1976), the John Morgan House (1993) and the Cleburne County High School (2018).

How old are the homes in Heflin?

5% of Heflin’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.9 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1974.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (17), the National Register of Historic Places (3), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.