Enterprise (Alabama)
See also: Enterprise (homonymy)
Enterprise is a city of the the United States located in the Comté of Coffee (Alabama). It is localized with 31°19' 39" north and 85°50' 40" west, and extends on 80,3 km ². In 2000, the population was evaluated with 21.178 people.
Enterprise is famous for its large statue representing a female mythological figure, the tended arms, exhibant a great reproduction of the Charançon of cotton. This statue commemorates the appearance of this ravageur, in 1915, which obliged the inhabitants to change their agricultural production: they then specialized in the culture of the Arachide, and this change brought prosperity to the city. It is the only example known in the world of one sculpture to the glory of a harmful insect.
History of the monument
It is inaugurated the December 11th 1919. In 1915, the charançon arrives from Mexico and Texas and devastation soon the cotton fields and ruin the farmers. H.M. Sessions, noting this situation, estimates that it could be the occasion to convert the area with the culture of groundnut. In 1916, it convinces C.W. Baston, an involved in debt farmer, to launch out in the adventure.The first harvest makes it possible to the two men to refund all their debts, success which encourages other farmers to also launch out in the culture of groundnut. But, even when the culture of cotton can begin again, the farmers included/understood the lesson and continue to diversify their cultures.
It is certain Good Fleming which proposes to build the monument. The statue, without the charançon, is built in Italy for 1.795 dollars. The basin where the fountain runs assembles the invoice to 3.000 dollars, paid by Fleming and other contributors. The sculpture of the charançon is added thirty years later, when Luther Baker thinks that the monument devoted to the charançon must present a charançon. It carries out the charançon and attaches it to the place of the fountain which was not then any more in service.
The sculpture of the charançon, and sometimes even the whole monument, stolen with many recoveries, and found and was each time restored by the inhabitants of the city, until July 11th 1998. This time, the vandals steal the charançon by cutting out the hands of the statue, damaging it definitively. The persons in charge of the city wanted to repair the original statue and to position it back, but that was considered too difficult and too expensive. It is thus a reproduction which is in the center of the city, the original being exposed to the museum of the city, and it is supervised by a surveillance camera in order to withdraw it from all new vandalism.
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