View of South Main Street, Enterprise from the Rawls Hotel

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09:06

View of South Main Street, Enterprise from the Rawls Hotel

American cities, compared to what would be called a city in many European countries, can often seem somewhat underwhelming at first glance. This view of the main street in Enterprise, streaming from the Rawls Hotel, is one that may well have you saying to yourself – is that it? But of course, it’s not and as it goes, even though the view of its main street doesn’t generate even a mild tingle of excitement, there’s a bit more to this city in Alabama than initially meets the eye.

Enterprise was founded at the very tail-end of the 19th century, 1896 to be precise. Its urban growth, the same as many new towns of that era, was initiated by the opening of a store selling much needed goods to settlers passing through. Those settlers, after claiming their land and setting up their plantation homes, turned to farming cotton. That proved to be very profitable for a while, but as is the way of the world, nothing good lasts forever. Rather than going bonkers about an infestation of boll weevil bugs, a beetle quite partial to cotton plants, the farmers turned to nuts instead. And not just any nuts – they began to grow peanuts which, fortunately for them, turned out to be even more profitable than cotton.

As it goes, Enterprise was a city that was aptly named. The dictionary definition of the word enterprise means something along the lines of a bold undertaking and bold back in the day those farmers definitely were. That boldness in the face of diversity is still commemorated in Enterprise today. How? With the Boll Weevil Monument and thirty-odd bug statues, including Ronald McWeevil, on Weevil Way. If you have a phobia of two-metre tall bugs, you might want to cross visiting Enterprise off your bucket list. If you’re an entomophile, well, you may well have just discovered seventh heaven.