[2][3] One of the objections to the cross was its perceived association with Ku Klux Klan (Eugene grew to be a recognized national stronghold for the KKK through the 1950s.

The butte is also the location of a giant "O" emblem (representing the University of Oregon) visible from the air and the city.

[7] A small reservoir sits on public land on the east flank of the butte below the summit.

The butte was known as "Ya-Po-Ah" in the language of the Kalapuya, who inhabited the Willamette Valley prior to the arrival of Euro-American settlers in the 19th century.

In 1846, Eugene Skinner, an American settler who had arrived in the valley after traveling overland to California, erected a cabin on the butte on the advice of the Kalupuya, who warned him about floods on the Willamette.

[12][13][14] From the opinion of the 9th Federal Circuit Court,[15] the official history of this controversy is as follows: As a result of the 9th Federal Circuit's ruling in August 1996,[16] the cross was removed on June 12, 1997,[2][14] and reinstalled twelve days later at Eugene Bible College in west Eugene, south of Churchill High School.