Until 1809, Black Baptists in Philadelphia worshipped in primarily white Baptist congregations. The First African Baptist Church was established on June 19, 1809, by thirteen former congregants of primarily white First Baptist Church of Philadelphia. The founding of the First African Baptist Church paved the way for the establishment of other Black Baptist churches in early-19th century Philadelphia. The City's third Black Baptist congregation, the Union Baptist Church, was founded on September 18, 1832. Its founder, Reverend Daniel Scott, had arrived in Philadelphia from Petersburg, Virginia in May of that year. Scott recognized the need for another Black Baptist congregation, and, subsequently, organized Union Baptist Church. Its first 21 members, like him, all hailed from Virginia.

Under Reverend Scott, the Union Baptist Church purchased a small lot on the south side of Minster Street (now Addison Street) between 6th and 7th Streets. The site included room enough for both the church and a burial ground. The church was completed in 1838.

Eventually, Union Baptist Church would grow to form the largest Black congregation in Philadelphia. By the mid-1880s, the church had outgrown its original 500-seat building on Addison Street. In 1887, it purchased a lot on the east side of 12th Street, south of Bainbridge Street, in the Moyamensing section of the city.

The following year, Union Baptist sold its old church and burial ground to Congregation B'nai Reuben, a Hasidic Jewish congregation, for a temporary worship site until its synagogue at the southeast corner of 6th and Kater Streets was completed in 1905. The Addison Street site was later purchased by the City of Philadelphia, which subsequently demolished the church and presumably removed the burial ground to create a schoolyard for the adjacent public school, the James Forten Elementary Manual Training School.

Note: this burial ground is sometimes confused with Saint George's Methodist Episcopal Church North West Burial Ground at 16th Street and Fairmount Avenue, home to the Hedding Methodist Episcopal Church, which was later sold to a Union American Methodist Episcopal denomination.