Boll Weevil Monument
The Boll Weevil Monument in downtown Enterprise, Alabama, United States, is a prominent landmark and tribute erected by the citizens of Enterprise in 1919 to show their appreciation to an insect, the boll weevil, for its profound influence on the area's agriculture and economy. Hailing the beetle as a "herald of prosperity," it stands as the world's first monument built to honor an agricultural pest.
The Monument consists of a statue of a woman holding a pedestal with a boll weevil perched on top.
Story
[Image:Boll Weevil Monument Alabama Historical Marker.JPG|thumb|left|Historical Marker by the monument, at the intersection of Main and College.]The boll weevil, sometimes referred to as the "Mexican cotton boll weevil" was indigenous to Mexico, but appeared in Alabama in 1915. By 1918 farmers were losing whole crops of cotton. H. M. Sessions saw this as an opportunity to convert the area to peanut farming. In 1916 he convinced C. W. Baston, an indebted farmer, to back his venture. The first crop paid off their debts and was bought by farmers seeking to change to peanut farming. Cotton was grown again, but farmers learned to diversify their crops, a practice which brought new money to Coffee County.
Bon Fleming, a local businessman, came up with the idea to build a statue and helped to finance the cost. As a tribute to how something disastrous can be a catalyst for change, and a reminder of how the people of Enterprise adjusted in the face of adversity, the monument was dedicated on December 11, 1919, at the intersection of College and Main Street, the heart of the town's business district.
Description
The monument depicts a female figure sculpted in classical Greco-Roman style wearing a chiton, with arms stretched above her head holding a trophy topped by an enlarged-scale boll weevil. The statue stands atop an ornately detailed base which supports two round streetlamps. The base stands in the center of a fountain, which is surrounded by a wrought-iron railing. The monument stands more than tall.At the base of the monument appears the following inscription:
The original statue of the woman, excluding the fountain and boll weevil, was crafted in Italy for approximately $1,800. The boll weevil was not added until thirty years later, when Luther Baker thought the Boll Weevil Monument should have a boll weevil on it. He made the boll weevil and mounted it atop the statue.
[Image:Depot Museum Enterprise Alabama.jpg|thumb|left|The nearby Depot Museum housed the original statue for a time. In 2019 it was moved to the Pea River Historical and Genealogical Society's Gift Shop.]