Calhoun County, Alabama

Calhoun County is a county in the U.S. state of Alabama. As of 2010 the population was 118,572. It is included in the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its county seat is Anniston.

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 2000 census, the county has a total area of 612.32 sqmi. 608.46 sqmi (or 99.37%) is land and 3.86 sqmi (or 0.63%) is water.

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.