The fountain was the only monument to the Confederacy located in the Northwestern United States . In the region , a few other place names and one dam included the name " Confederate , " plus one elementary school in Washington State was named after Robert E. Lee In July 2015 , in the wake of the Charleston church shooting , some city officials considered renaming it as the " Civil War Memorial fountain " . However , the Lewis & Clark County Heritage Tourism Council suggested they should keep the historic name and contextualize its establishment . Helena Mayor Jim Smith agreed that the historic name should be kept . By October 2015 , they agreed to add a sign to contextualize the fountain . However , Mayor Jim Smith turned down the suggestion to add a disclaimer on the grounds that it was unnecessary . Nevertheless , by January 2016 , city officials discussed adding a sign using language drafted by the Montana Historical Society containing a disclaimer about the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacy
Charleston church shooting
Charleston church shooting
Confederate Memorial Fountain (Helena, Montana)