Paton's Larger Hope Church in Buchanan

 

Paton’s Larger Hope Church (a former Advent Christian Church building) in his home town of Almont apparently closed before the end of the 19^th century.

Its sister church in Buchanan (pictured above) lasted a little longer. Like the Almont building, it was another former Adventist Church, and Lizzie Allen was pastor there for some time around 1890. There was a direct rail link from Buchanan to Imlay City, about eight miles north of Almont, and this allowed Paton to visit at will. Newspaper records show funerals conducted in Buchanan by John H Paton (sometimes as Elder sometimes as Rev.) for members such as Isaac Marble (1901), Aaron Miller (1904), Clarissa Mead (1905), Mary Miller Mowbray (1907) and Jane Wagner (1907).

The book Greetings from Buchanan (Goodsell and Myers 2005) describes how Paton’s Buchanan Church was ultimately sold off to the Seventh Day Adventists in 1921. It was then sold to the Church of Christ in the 1950s before eventually being torn down to make a parking lot.