Unsupported, Sinclair abandoned the mission in 1851 and continued his work elsewhere; the structures were inhabited again by Rundle's Methodist successors, Rev. Thomas Woolsey and Henry Steinhauer from 1856 to 1858. Woolsey found the area was prone to a poor growing season to due a colder climate, had poor soil conditions, and due to a shrinking Bison population, there was violence amongst the native tribes in the area who relied on it for food. Thus, Woolsey eventually opened a new mission near Smoky Lake in 1861. Sinclair and Woolsey maintained Rundle's remaining followers, and the Methodist church in central Alberta survived and grew into the 20th century. Eventually the Methodists joined with the Presbyterians and Congregationalists to form the United Church of Canada in 1925.