It is a significant point on the Northwest Territories highway system, as all traffic that heads to the two largest population centres, Yellowknife to the north, and the nearby town of Hay River to the northeast, must pass through.

[7] With the completion of the Mackenzie Highway in 1948 from Grimshaw, Alberta, to Hay River on the shores of Great Slave Lake, a number of new service stops were built along its length.

In the winter of 1948/1949, Jack Parnall, a freight operator based in Hay River, opened a service station at the junction of the Mackenzie Highway and the Mills Lake winter road, which connected to the Mills Lake freight staging area on the Mackenzie River below Fort Providence.

[8] In the late 1950s, the highway was extended to Yellowknife on the north side of Great Slave Lake, and Enterprise became the important junction.

[17] In 2007, Enterprise filed a petition to change from settlement status to hamlet, which would allow for greater powers by council, a public voting for mayor, and freedom to set property tax rates.