African Cemetery No. 2, also known as The Cemetery of the Union Benevolent Society No. 2, lies in front of you in Lexington, Kentucky. Here the first burials occurred as early as the 1820s, and the Colored Peoples Union Benevolent Society No. 2 purchased the property for use as a cemetery in 1869. The last burials took place in 1974.
In 1889, 300 bodies were moved here from the Presbyterian Cemetery on Limestone Street under the supervision of C. O. H. Thomas. In 1973 Lexington city government took control of the cemetery, and in 1979 African Cemetery No. 2, Incorporated was organized to save the property. This 7.7 acre (3.1 ha) site contains more than 5,000 graves, of which 1,200 are identified and fewer than 600 are recognized with markers.
Military veterans’ graves total 148, including 112 U.S. Colored Troops of the American Civil War, and about 80 of those veterans trained at nearby Camp Nelson. In June 2003 a Kentucky Historical Highway Marker was placed on the site, and the cemetery was added to the National Register of Historic Places on March 31, 2004. Notice the 148 military veterans buried here, including 112 U.S. Colored Troops of the Civil War.