Paton's Larger Hope Church in Almont

This picture has already appeared on other related blogs, and shows John Paton’s Larger Hope Church in his home town of Almont.

Paton was expelled from the Baptists for teaching conditional immortality, and so built an Advent Church in Almont in 1872. As he moved into Universalism (and so parted from CTR) his Church became known as the Larger Hope Church. According to the book “Almont, The Tale of Then and Now” by Hildamae Waltz Bowman page 91 (1985 edition) from where the picture comes, it was founded in 1872 with fifteen members and folded twenty-five years later due to lack of support. By the twentieth century it was no more. Paton’s Buchanan Church featured in a post below lasted just a little longer.

The church subsequently became an extra school building, a rug factory, and then a private home. It still stands to-day in North Bristol Street, Almont. Intrepid net surfers can try and locate it using Google Earth.