Enterprise, Alabama
| Enterprise, Alabama | |
|---|---|
| City | |
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| Motto: "City of Progress" | |
 Location in Coffee County and the state of Alabama |
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| Coordinates: 31°19′39″N 85°50′40″W / 31.32750°N 85.84444°WCoordinates: 31°19′39″N 85°50′40″W / 31.32750°N 85.84444°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| Counties | Coffee, Dale |
| Founded | 1896 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Kenneth Boswell |
| Area | |
| • Total | 31.3 sq mi (81.1 km2) |
| • Land | 31.2 sq mi (80.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.08 sq mi (0.2 km2) |
| Elevation | 358 ft (109 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 26,562 |
| • Estimate (2015) | 27,978 |
| • Density | 850/sq mi (328.3/km2) |
| Time zone | CST (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 36330-36331 |
| Area code(s) | 334 |
| FIPS code | 01-24184 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0118005 |
| Website | www |
Enterprise is a city in the southeastern part of Coffee County and the southwestern part of Dale County in the southeastern part of Alabama in the Southern United States. The population was 26,562 at the 2010 census. Enterprise is the primary city of the Enterprise Micropolitan Statistical Area (with the portion of the city located in Dale County part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area), and is also part of the Dothan-Enterprise-Ozark Combined Statistical Area.
Enterprise is famous for the Boll Weevil Monument, a large monument of a woman holding a boll weevil, which is located in the middle of Main Street. The city erected the statue because the destruction of the cotton crop by the boll weevil had led to agricultural diversity, starting with peanuts and more prosperity than had ever come from cotton alone. It is said to be the only statue to an insect pest in the world. Enterprise is right outside of Fort Rucker, an Army base which is the home of Army Aviation.
Enterprise is home to Enterprise State Community College.
The founder of Enterprise, John Henry Carmichael, first settled there in 1881. Carmichael opened a store, which attracted more settlers to the area, and by the next year a post office was relocated from the settlement of Drake Eye to the north to Enterprise. In 1896, with 250 people having settled there, the city of Enterprise incorporated. Soon afterward, the Alabama Midland Railway came to Enterprise, bringing with it opportunities for commerce and growth. By 1906, ten years after the city incorporated, its population had grown to 3,750.
The way of life in Enterprise came under threat in 1915. An infestation of boll weevils had found its way into the region's cotton crops, resulting in the destruction of most of the cotton in Coffee County. Facing economic ruin, the nearly bankrupt area farmers were forced to diversify, planting peanuts and other crops in an effort to lessen the damage and recoup some of the losses inflicted upon them by the invading insect.
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Wikipedia