Georgia Historical Society Dedicates New Historical Marker About the Union Benevolent Aid Society
The Georgia Historical Society (GHS), in partnership with the Fayette County Historical Society (FCHS), dedicated a new historical marker in Fayetteville on April 9, 2025. The historical marker shares the history of the Union Benevolent Aid Society (UBAS), an African-American benevolent organization that was founded in Fayetteville in the 1880s. Enduring for over 100 years in Georgia, UBAS grew to impact communities across the state.
“The Union Benevolent Aid Society is an exceptional example showing how Black communities organized throughout the Jim Crow South to provide themselves with the necessary services such as those related to medical care and funerals,” said Breana James, GHS Historical Marker and Program Associate. “The Georgia Historical Society is pleased to have worked with the Fayette County Historical Society to share UBAS’s history and impact in the city where it was founded.”
In 1884, UBAS began with the efforts of a few formerly enslaved men in Fayette County. The men established a local Black cemetery, as there was no organized, public space for African Americans in the county to bury their loved ones. Many were buried at churches or farms on which they worked or where they were previously enslaved. The UBAS cemetery was eventually integrated with the Fayetteville Cemetery.
Only one year later in 1885, men from the same community established UBAS as a membership organization. Membership not only helped the Society establish cemeteries but also provided aid for burial services and sick members, like modern insurance plans. The first chapter, or lodge, was located on Church Street, just around the corner from the Fayetteville Cemetery. By 1955, UBAS included 526 lodges across Georgia.
“The Union Benevolent Aid Society provided communal engagement, leadership opportunities, hope, and resilience from Reconstruction through the Jim Crow era for over 100 years,” said Merryll S. Penson, Retired Executive Director, Library Services, University System of Georgia, and FCHS member. “The recognition of its part in the fabric of Georgia’s history is important for today’s citizens and tomorrow’s generations.”
After emancipation, the Freedmen’s Bureau supported many, but it could not reach everyone. During the Reconstruction and Jim Crow eras, Black communities established African-American benevolent associations across the South. UBAS primarily served rural communities, fostering social and spiritual fellowship, citizenship, and community uplift in segregated Georgia.
