The Alabama Free Will Baptist Children’s Home is located in Eldridge, Alabama, just a short drive up Interstate 22 from Jasper and Birmingham. The main campus is around 16 acres and it holds the four children’s resident houses, the administration building, an above ground pool, and our activity building. There is also a small pasture area that is home to a few cows. In the last few years, we have acquired adjoining land that covers about 60 acres. We use this land to plant trees, make hiking trails for the children to enjoy, and other outdoor activities, including a recently added disc golf course. The outdoor activities continue to a 200 acre piece of land across the highway from us that we call the Hill. It was generously donated to us by Walker County, and it provides an excellent outdoor escape for the children. We use this land to teach the children about hunting, and there are also two ponds that the children can fish from and also swim in.
Our main campus also holds the Bridge House, a type of transitional housing for the children. The ideas is that any child that is graduating and doesn’t have anywhere to go can stay here while they work or go to school. The house used to be the director’s house, but it was remodeled into three separate apartments. They children retain the support of the home, but they also have more independence. We truly set every child that comes to our group home up for success in the real world, and this transitional home helps make this possible for the children.
We have several special buildings that lay within our grounds. There is a 100 year old home that we call the Thorogood house. It is a unique home that has stood the test of time and is truly a monument to the beautiful state of Alabama. The stone that makes up the home was sourced straight from the very same ground that it stands on today. There used to be a rock quarry on the property that supplied the stone for the Thorogood house, which was fully renovated in 2018. There is also another stone building that was made by the same people and at the same time as the Thorogood house, however it is not habitable. Therefore, it is just used for much needed storage on the main campus. If you have any questions about our campus or the many amenities that we have for the children, please contact us today.
