The President of the UDC Robert E. Lee Chapter #885 and Washington Division at the time, Mrs. May Avery Wilkins, who was originally from Georgia, is credited with establishing the monument.

On July 5, 2018, "several parts of the 10-ton piece of granite [were] smashed, including a portion of the monument's inscription, insignia, and relief of Robert E.

[6] In 2017, in response to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and the increased pace of the removal of Confederate monuments and memorials in other parts of the country, Seattle Mayor Ed Murray said, "Seattle needs to join with cities and towns across the country who are sending a strong message by taking these archaic symbols down," acknowledging that Lake View is private property outside the city's control.

[12] The monument was toppled by "a group of local activists supportive of racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement," apparently on July 3, 2020.

[14] The activists responsible wrote in a statement to the South Seattle Emerald that, "this action is for everyone, living or dead, who has been stolen, murdered, enslaved, raped, tortured, brutalized, terrorized, displaced, incarcerated, colonized, exploited, or separated from land, family, and culture by white supremacy.