Calhoun County, Alabama

Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of 2020 the population was 116,441.^[1] It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat is Anniston.

Calhoun County
County
Calhoun County courthouse in Anniston
Location within the U.S. state of Alabama
Alabama's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 33°46′10″N 85°49′15″W
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Founded	December 18, 1832 as Benton County
Named for	John C. Calhoun
Seat	Anniston
Largest city	Oxford
Area
• Total	612 sq mi (1,590 km2)
• Land	606 sq mi (1,570 km2)
• Water	6.4 sq mi (17 km2)  1.0%
Population  (2020)[1]
• Total	116,441
• Density	190/sq mi (73/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Website	www.calhouncounty.org

History

Benton County was formed on December 18, 1832. It was named for Thomas Hart Benton, a member of the United States Senate from Missouri. The first county seat was at Jacksonville.

An F4 tornado struck here on Palm Sunday March 27, 1994. It destroyed Piedmont's Goshen United Methodist Church twelve minutes after the National Weather Service of Birmingham issued a tornado warning for northern Calhoun, southeastern Etowah, and southern Cherokee.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 612 square miles (1,590 km²), of which 606 square miles (1,570 km²) is land and 6.4 square miles (17 km²) (1.0%) is water.^[2]

Major highways

Interstate 20 U.S. Highway 78 U.S. Highway 278 U.S. Highway 431

State Route 9 State Route 21 State Route 144 State Route 200 State Route 202 State Route 204

Rail

• Alabama and Tennessee River Railway
• Norfolk Southern Railway
• Amtrak

Adjacent counties

• Cherokee County, Alabama - northeast
• Cleburne County, Alabama - east
• Talladega County, Alabama - south
• St. Clair County, Alabama - west
• Etowah County, Alabama - northwest

National protected areas

• Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge
• Talladega National Forest (part)

Cities and towns

• Alexandria
• Anniston
• Blue Mountain
• Bynum
• Choccolocco
• Eastaboga
• Hobson City
• Jacksonville
• Pleasant Valley
• Minden
• Ohatchee
• Oxford (part - part of Oxford is in Talladega County)
• Piedmont (part - part of Piedmont is in Cherokee County)
• Saks
• Weaver
• Webster's Chapel
• Wellington
• West End-Cobb Town

Places of interest

Calhoun County is home to the Anniston Museum of Natural History and the Berman Museum of World History. It also contains a part of the Talladega National Forest.