Helena begins removing Confederate memorial
Andrew Perl holds an American flag in front of a Confederate memorial on Thursday, Aug. 17, 2017, in Helena, Mont., as Marlee Hanson looks on while holding her daughter. About two dozen people gathered to protest after city workers made initial preparations to dismantle the granite fountain commissioned by the Daughters of the Confederacy more than a century ago (AP Photo/Matt Volz)
The Confederate Memorial Fountain in Hill Park was constructed by the Daughters of the Confederacy in 1916, and is the only monument to the Confederacy in the Northwest, according to Ken Robinson’s book, “Montana Territory and the Civil War.” (Thom Bridge /Independent Record via AP)
Trisha Sorenson is taken into custody Friday, Aug. 18, 2017, at Hill Park in Helena, Mont., after defying orders to leave the grounds of a Confederate monument. City crews moved in Friday morning to begin dismantling the fountain. City commissioners ordered the monument removed earlier this week in response to events in Charlottesville, Va. Sorenson was part of a small group opposed to the removal of the fountain. She was later released. (Thom Bridge/Helena Independent Record via AP)
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.