Flatwood in Montgomery in Montgomery County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Union Benevolent Cemetery

Montgomery County

Photographed by Mark Hilton, February 10, 2025

1. Union Benevolent Cemetery Marker

Inscription.
Union Benevolent Cemetery is Montgomery County's 25th cemetery listed in the Alabama Historic Cemetery Register. Charlie and Bertha Burnett donated land to the Union Benevolent Society, established in 1863 by Ford Williams, Jack Sims, Tom Cobb, and Parenthia Sanders. Union Benevolent Society Lodge No. 7 owns the cemetery and offers burial plots for members. The oldest grave dates to January 16, 1864. This cemetery holds the earthly remains for military veterans, farmers, educators, and businessmen and women. These graves mark the journey of generations from 1864 until the present. Preservation of this cemetery ensures the historical symbolism embodied herein will never vanish.

Listed In the Alabama Cemetery Register on August 19, 2019
Sponsored by Commissioner Isaiah Sankey

Erected 2021 by the Union Benevolent Society.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Cemeteries & Burial Sites. A significant historical date for this entry is January 16, 1864.

Location. 32° 27.057′ N, 86° 16.096′ W. Marker is in Montgomery, Alabama, in Montgomery County. It is in Flatwood. It is on Williams Drive 0.2 miles east of Franson Road, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 694 Williams Dr, Montgomery AL 36110, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Alabama’s Tri-Counties River Region.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Black Belt.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Pickett Springs / “The Best Public Resort” (approx. 1½ miles away); 9th Infantry Division / “The Old Reliables” (approx. 1.9 miles away); 167th Infantry / Alabama’s Own (approx. 1.9 miles away); Camp Sheridan (approx. 1.9 miles away); 37th Division The Buckeye Division / 37th Division The Buckeye Division (approx. 1.9 miles away); Old Elam Baptist Church (approx. 3.1 miles away); Gunter Annex / Gunter Basic Flying Training School (approx. 3.1 miles away); Union Chapel A.M.E. Zion Church (approx. 3.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Montgomery.

Additional commentary.
1. A tornado in November 2022 damaged the cemetery.
The Union Benevolent Cemetery dates to Flatwood's founding shortly after the Civil War, when the government gave parts of the land to formerly enslaved people as part of the "40 Acres and a Mule" deal, according to information from the United Way. Today, most of the residents can trace their land back generations.

The tornado destroyed 19 of the 48 homes in the Flatwood Community. Tombstones are still overturned and fallen limbs litter the grounds. The Golden Link Cemetery, next to this one, suffered even more damage due to falling & uprooted trees.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, February 10, 2025

2. Union Benevolent Cemetery & Marker
— Submitted February 11, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 28, 2025. It was originally submitted on February 10, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 229 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 10, 2025, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.