Horace Burgess’s Treehouse located in the rural Cumberland County, Tennessee is the largest treehouse in the world. It is sometimes called the Minister’s Treehouse based on the divine inspiration Mr. Burgess channeled in order to build this nearly 100 foot tall spectacle which spans across 7 large trees with the main anchor being an 80 foot tall White Oak. This labor of love which totals nearly 10,000 square feet was built over two decades by Horace Burgess, a landscaper who bought some wooded acreage back in 1993 and believed God called him to build this unbelievable structure. Once a popular destination for locals and tourists alike, the treehouse was closed in 2013 by the Tennessee Fire Marshall who said it did not meet state building codes. Horace had hoped to appease the powers that be and eventually allow entry to the treehouse if visitors signed a waiver but back in 2018 the 139 acre property was listed for sale with an asking price of $1.5 million. Is that an indication Horace has given up on his dream? It seems so, a story from Crossville News dated September 6, 2019 states the treehouse has indeed been sold. For the time being the timber tabernacle sits in all it’s glory, towering over the treetops behind a locked gate with a sign warning trespassers of a $350 fine.
Sadly, just a couple weeks after I made this post The Minister’s Treehouse burned to the ground and was completely destroyed.
SOURCE CITATIONS
Atlas Obscura (June 11, 2013). “World’s Largest Treehouse, Built by Divine Inspiration”. Slate. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
“Roadside America article”. Roadside America article. Retrieved 2013-02-07
Leave a Reply