On January 14, 2017, my family and I took a trip to the World's Largest Treehouse. Surprisingly, this unique adventure location is located in Crossville, Tennessee. The treehouse was built by a minister named Horace Burgess who claims that his creation is "still a work in progress" and "is inspired by God." The treehouse is 97 feet tall and is supported by an incredible 80 foot tall Oak tree, as well as 6 other supporting trees. The treehouse is said to have 5 stories, 80 rooms, a church, bell tower, and a wrap around porch on each level. It truly is an incredible building.
As my family and I attempted to find the treehouse, we knew that we were getting into a sticky situation. The attraction has technically been shut down by the State Fire Marshall, for understandable reasons. But we knew several people that said it is still pretty easy to get inside. So we decided that it would be worth a little trespassing to get to explore this record breaking place.
When we pulled up there were several other cars parked outside the gate, which encouraged us even more to go inside. We found a good spot to crawl through the fence and wandered back towards the towering treehouse. I was already impressed just by the sheer size of it. As we got closer we started to realize that each part of the treehouse was different and constructed in a very haphazard way. The wrap around porches and detailed wood made me start to appreciate just how special this place really is.
We made our way to the first set of stairs we could find and walked through the little gate that said, "Climb at your own risk!" The spiral, uneven stairs were a little concerning but I tried not to focus on my nerves or the dizzy feeling I was getting and just kept walking. When I got to a clearing I was just so amazed. The random layout of the building was obvious and it made for a really fun time of exploring. I would look up and my sister would somehow be in a room above me. I would ask her, "How did you get there?" and she would say, "Honestly, I don't really know how."
The treehouse is full of twists and turns. Some of the steps may be missing a section and some of the floor may have a couple holes, but for the most part, you feel pretty safe and the building is secure. One of the most interesting parts of the treehouse to me was the chapel in the very center. There is a large open area with pews and a cross-shaped podium. As I looked around at the pictures on the wall, I discovered that people had gotten married in that very room. There were definitely a lot of spiritual influences throughout the treehouse that made the name "The Minister's Treehouse" seem even more appropriate.
We made our way all around the treehouse. We explored all the way up to the bell tower. There were lots of little balconies and alcoves to find. We explored for at least an hour and probably still didn't see all that the treehouse has to offer!
One of the best parts of the treehouse was actually on the outside. Attached to the treehouse was a crazy fun swing. The swing is literally a metal chair duct taped on to a huge rope. You could swing so high on it! We had a lot of fun with it, as you can see from these pictures:
Overall our trip to the treehouse was so much fun and I'm so glad that we did it! We made a lot of fun memories together as a family. One of my most favorite has to be seeing my grandmother crawl through a fence! Another great memory was when I fell through a table that I stood on for a picture.
Also we found this really fun area for a photo shoot. My sister, Alaina Smith, who took all of these wonderful pictures had us be her models. The pictures we took there are just another great memory from our day at the treehouse.
I really recommend that you go explore the treehouse if you get the chance!
