In 1847, Reverend Rundle received permission to create a mission site at Pigeon Lake. After Rundle's permanent departure to England the following year, his follower Benjamin Sinclair attempted to keep the Methodist church alive. Sinclair oversaw the construction of mission buildings at the behest of Rundle in 1848, and was left in charge in the missionary's absence. The mission served the Cree, Stoney, and Blackfoot peoples, instructing them not only in Christianity, but in reading and writing in syllabics, and growing crops.