A Brief History of OBHC

Reverend J. A. Scott gave his wife credit for the beginning of the Oklahoma Baptist Orphans Home. Soon after they came to Oklahoma City, he accepted the call as pastor of the Washington Avenue Baptist Church. Very soon after Reverend Scott began his ministry, Mrs. Scott met a mother who was near death and living in a little shack in an alley near the church. The mother asked Mrs. Scott to find a home for her baby. The girl, Gladys Smith, lived in the Scott home until the formal opening of the Oklahoma Baptist Orphans Home, March 15, 1903. The first location of the Home was in a little house on Pottawatomie Street (Neither Washington Avenue Baptist Church nor Pottawatomie Street exist in Oklahoma City today).

 

On June 1, 1903, the Home was moved to a frame building on one and a half stories on West Pottawatomie Street. Nine children were in residence. In 1905, the joint Boards of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory and the Oklahoma State Baptist Convention accepted a bid from Oklahoma City of 40 acres of land and $2,000 to move the Home to its location at NW 63rd and Pennsylvania. Ownership of the Home was transferred to the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma in 1917.

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Historical Marker at Original Location

Orphans Home sign A sign marks the original location of the Baptist Orphan's Home in Oklahoma City.

The Birthday Bank is a donation method churches began using in the early 1900s to provide help for children in the care of OBHC. In the early years, the gift was usually a penny for each birthday celebrated. As time went by, the penny became a dollar and so on. Although more modern versions of the banks are still in use, online donations are available as well.

The Department of Child Care was established in 1956 and entrusted by the Convention with the operation of Christian services to children and their families. In 1985, the Department of Child Care and the Department of Retirement Centers and chaplaincy were combined to create the Special Care Ministries Office. In 1988, the name was changed to Family Care Ministries Office and included the Child Care, Adult Care, and Special Care Ministries. A separation of Adult Care and Child Care in 1993 created two new entities. In that year, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children was established as an affiliate corporation of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma with its own President and Board of Trustees. OBHC is now the largest provider of private, non-profit residential child care in the state.

Rev. and Mrs. J.A. Scott
Oklahoma Baptist Orphans’ Home began when Mrs. J.A. Scott (Theodocia Gresham Scott) brought the first of many children into her home. Before moving from Kentucky to Oklahoma Territory, she had a desire to serve in ministry to children. Her husband, Reverend Scott, was the pastor of Washington Avenue Baptist Church at Oklahoma Station, now Oklahoma City.

In 1902, the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory and the Oklahoma Baptist State Convention voted to support the Baptist Orphans’ Home. The following January, J.A. Scott was elected superintendent and manager with the power to open a home and employ help as he thought necessary.
Gladys Smith and Annabelle Hunt
Gladys Smith and Annabelle Hunt were the first two children the Scotts brought into their home.

A three-week-old baby girl whose mother was near death and living in a little shack in an alley near Washington Avenue Baptist Church was the first child the Scotts brought into their home. The little girl, Gladys Smith, lived in the Scott's home until the formal opening of the Oklahoma Baptist Orphans’ Home.

Left in a wagon in Pauls Valley, Indian Territory, Annabelle Hunt became the second baby taken into the Orphans’ Home. She was two months old. The Oklahoma Baptist Orphans’ Home opened March 5, 1903, and welcomed three more little girls into its shelter. Three months later, the Home was moved to a six-room rented house on West Pottawatomie Street and had grown to include nine children.
Miss Winnie Mitchell and Others at First House
Winnie Mitchell (left), with house matrons and children at Orphans' Home on West Pottawatomie Street.

The first permanent house matron of the Orphans' Home was Miss Winnie Mitchell. She later served as home superintendent from 1903-1906. She was known to share with others in need, even though her salary was only $3 a week.
New Property 1907
The new property, purchased in 1907 at NW 63rd and Pennsylvania Avenue, was seven miles outside Oklahoma City limits. The children, and everything else, were loaded on a lumber wagon. The oldest boy in residence drove the horses to the new location of Oklahoma Baptist Orphans’ Home. The new three-and-a-half-story building, Old North, sat on 40 acres. Old North provided housing for up to 46 children and administration offices for the staff. It was the only building on the 40-acre campus until 1918.
William McKinney
Prince and Bill were horses the children rode and loved. This photograph was taken during McKinney's administration. William McKinney can be seen standing between the two horses.

William McKinney served as superintendent from 1907-1915. He faced the challenges of operating the Orphans’ Home in the state’s poor economy. The Home survived because Oklahoma Baptists generously gave to the ministry.
Boys in Crowded Conditions
Young boys are shown here in crowded conditions of Old North in the 1930s.

Each campus is unique but all share the same mission:

To demonstrate God’s love by providing hope through empowering children and their families to follow Christ.

1903-Oklahoma City
From its beginning as an orphans' home before statehood in 1903, Baptist Children’s Home, Oklahoma City is the original campus, established in 1907 at N.W. 63rd and Pennsylvania. For the next 75 years, this campus served hundreds of children in need of a home. In 1982, Baptist Children’s Home, Oklahoma City property was sold and the campus was moved to south OKC. Eleven buildings were constructed, including six cottages and staff housing.
1953-Boys Ranch Town
Boys Ranch Town was a dream of Mr. and Mrs. James M. Johnson, who had lost their 14-year-old son, Jimmy, in 1937. In 1953, their dream became a reality when the Johnson’s gave a 160-acre tract of land and $500,000 to establish, operate and maintain the ranch. Formal groundbreaking took place October 12, with more than 2,500 attending. Since its beginning, Boys Ranch Town has continued to keep the Johnson’s dream alive as thousands of boys have called this place home.
1973-Owasso
Baptist Children’s Home, Owasso, the third OBHC campus to open, began in 1973 with a gift of land and money made available by Mr. and Mrs. J. Ray Smith of Tulsa. The groundbreaking and construction of cottages was the realization of a long-time dream of several Tulsa Baptists. It remains true to OBHC’s century-long spiritual commitment and steadfast in its years of distinctive Christian child-care and approaches to raising children.
1978-Madill
In 1976, former Oklahoma Governor Raymond Gary and his wife, Emma, donated 37 acres of land from their ranch and $200,000 and to start a Baptist Children’s Home in Madill. Groundbreaking was held March 5, 1977, and over the next three and a half years, five cottages were built to help meet demand of children needing a home. In 1999, Baptist Children’s Home, Madill changed its name to Baptist Home for Girls, becoming OBHC’s only all-girls campus.

Now, more than 100 years later, Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children has seen more than 11,000 children come through our doors and while our ministry has grown and expanded over the years, our focus has always been to serve children and show the people in our care, the love of Christ.

Heritage Room

The Heritage Room opened in 2021, and is located at our Oklahoma City Campus at 16301 S. Western.

See and experience for yourself the origins and impact of Oklahoma Baptist Homes for Children by visiting the newly constructed Heritage Room. For almost 120 years Oklahoma Baptists have answered the call to care for orphans, advocate for families, stand for life and walk with individuals and families from darkness to light. The engaging staff of our OKC Campus would love the opportunity to celebrate with you what the Lord has done in the past and share with you the vision that God has given us for the future.

Schedule a visit for you, your family or a group by emailing Candy Hines or Brent Parsons or calling the campus at (405) 691-7781.

Or you may use the feedback form on this page to have a representative email or call you to discuss details of your group’s visit.

External link to form: https://form.jotform.com/OBHC/heritage