In Crossville, Tennessee, there’s an amazing thing – the biggest treehouse globally. Built by a man named Horace Burgess, it’s called “The Minister’s Tree House,” showing how creative and faithful people can be.
Horace started this project in 1993, believing that God wanted him to do it. This incredible treehouse is ten stories tall and sits on six oak trees, covering more than 3,000 square meters.
Horace used a lot of nails – nearly 250,000 of them – and spent around $12,000. He thought God told him that he’d never run out of wood for the project.
The treehouse is a big space used for both prayer and basketball games. If you climb to the top, there’s a penthouse and a church bell, mixing the spiritual and the fun.
People who visited left marks on the wooden planks. Sadly, in 2012, the treehouse had to close because it broke fire safety rules. The wood it was made of was too easy to catch fire.
A sad thing happened – the treehouse burned down in less than half an hour. It was 97 feet tall and turned into ashes.
Horace started building it in the early 1990s, thinking he’d always have enough material. People in the area donated wood, and the treehouse grew for twenty years.
There were 80 rooms inside, including classrooms, bedrooms, and a kitchen. A big white oak tree, 80 feet tall, connected the five stories. Outside, there was a porch that went around, and inside, it had a mix of strange and spiritual things.
In 2012, the state fire marshals said it wasn’t safe for people to visit. Burgess didn’t agree and put up a sign saying it was closed because of them.
Later on, the treehouse caught fire. Firefighters tried to save it, but it became a pile of rubble. People who saw it from afar, like Macy Leatherwood, remember it as a cool thing from a family trip.
Captain Derek Carter, who visited it before it closed, said it was fascinating but dangerous. The Minister’s Treehouse is gone, but the story of building it and losing it stays in the hearts of those who loved its beauty.
