[1] The land for the park was purchased in 1917 by Paul Goodloe McIntire to be the setting for a bronze equestrian statue of Robert E. Lee and his horse Traveller that McIntire had commissioned.

The park and statue were donated to the city of Charlottesville by McIntire.

[3] The statue, although commissioned in 1917, was not cast until 1924 and it was finally placed in the park on Saturday, May 3, of that year.

[1][3] In February 2017, the City Council voted to remove the Robert E. Lee statue from the park.

[2] The renaming of the park and the proposed removal of the Robert Edward Lee sculpture on the site by the Charlottesville City Council was the catalyst for 2017 Unite the Right rally and a focus of controversy between those who want it removed and those who want it to remain.