Helena begins removing Confederate memorial

HELENA — The City of Helena on Friday began removing a monument to Confederate soldiers that has been in a public park in Montana’s capital city since 1916.

A handful of people opposed to the fountain’s removal had stood watch through the night. On Friday, one woman was handcuffed and taken into custody after police said she defied orders to leave the site. She was later released.

“We’re just trying to preserve this monument,” said Tony Crew, 28, who stood by with a huge American flag as city crews fenced off the granite fountain donated to the city more than a century ago by the United Daughters of the Confederacy. “It’s part of our history, and we don’t need to follow the precedent of the rest of the country.”

Calls for removal of the fountain in Helena’s Hill Park — and other Confederacy-related monuments across the country — increased after last weekend’s deadly confrontations at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Native American lawmakers in Montana said the Helena memorial stood for segregation, secession and slavery.

The Helena City Commission on Wednesday ordered the removal of the fountain, thought to be the only Confederate monument in the Northwest and upper Rockies.

City Parks and Recreation Director Amy Teegarden said the fountain initially will be stored in a city warehouse.

“Our intention is to remove it in such a way that the fountain, and its pieces, can remain intact and be reassembled at a future date,” Teegarden said.

About 25 people, not all of them protesting the removal, gathered at the scene as a handful of police officers stood watch.

One man, who declined to give his name, said the fountain was not a symbol of racism or hate but is part of American history that should not be forgotten.

“Somebody has to make a stand,” he shouted as city crews erected two rings of orange plastic fencing.

Tiffany Ivers, who was born in Texas but has lived most of her life in Helena, arrived with a Confederate flag.

“Taking down a monument that has nothing to do with what’s going on is not OK,” Ivers said.