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Fruithurst, Alabama

town in Cleburne County, Alabama, United States

Architectural plans, a scale model, maps and brass measuring instruments
Places and architectureInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionApr 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ79225
Source-derived summary

Fruithurst is a town in Cleburne County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 235.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.0 square mile (2.6 km2), all land.

History

Fruithurst once had a reputation for being a notorious speed trap along US Highway 78. Abuse of policing reached such an extent that in 1975 Alabama Attorney General Bill Baxley set up an office in the town, personally pledging to provide criminal defense to any person arrested or cited in the town. Additionally Reason magazine reported in May 2022 that, "...one case involved a woman arrested for traveling 58 in a 55-mph zone. She was also charged with transporting untaxed liquor—a half-empty miniature bottle of liqueur in her purse..." stating this was, "...both an abuse of law enforcement powers and a mockery of the very idea of legitimate traffic safety enforcement."

Demographics

At the 2000 census there were 270 people in 107 households, including 74 families, in the city. The population density was 264.8 inhabitants per square mile (102.2/km2). There were 111 housing units at an average density of 108.9 per square mile (42.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 99.63% White and 0.37% Black or African American.

Editorial summary

“Fruithurst, Alabama” enters the record as town in Cleburne County, Alabama, United States. Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Fruithurst, Alabama and town can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewA valuable geographic starting point for tracing changing names, boundaries, uses and administrative responsibility. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2020, 1975, 2022, 2000—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Fruithurst, Alabama and town.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Fruithurst, Alabama” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Fruithurst, Alabama and town provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Apr 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q79225. Authority coordinates are 33.731, -85.432. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1975, 2022 and 2000.

Critical limits

A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.

Best used for
  • Historic place names
  • Jurisdictional context
  • Routes into maps and plans
Verify next

Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Fruithurst, Alabama”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Fruithurst, Alabama primary sources, Fruithurst, Alabama archive and Fruithurst research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Fruithurst, Alabama”?
  2. What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
  3. Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Fruithurst, Alabama” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.