On Wednesday, the City of Enterprise celebrates the 100-year anniversary of its iconic Boll Weevil Monument.

The boll weevil is the only farming pest in the entire world to have its own monument.

The boll weevil destroyed many cotton crops in Southwest Alabama from 1915-1918, nearly bankrupting many farmers in the area. Some growers in the Enterprise area decided to grow peanuts as a way of avoiding ruination. The decision to diversify crops was so financially beneficial that the citizens of Enterprise erected the monument to the boll weevil.

A plaque at Enterprise City Hall describes an appreciation for what the boll weevil “had done as the herald of prosperity and the catalyst to diversified farming.”

According to WTVY, the monument did not feature an actual depiction of the pest from 1919 until 1948 when R.J. Baker added the world-famous bug to the top of the statue.

Enterprise will be hosting a rededication ceremony on December 11 at 5:30 p.m. that interested citizens can attend in person, or you can watch via live stream on Facebook.

“We hope that this rededication ceremony will renew everyone’s spirit about the message about the boll weevil monument, and if you haven’t heard the message before, you’re going to hear it for the first time,” City of Enterprise Tourism Director Tammy Doerer told WTVY.

Henry Thornton is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can contact him by email: [email protected] or on Twitter @HenryThornton95.