Crossville, Tennessee - The Minister's Treehouse

After reading this web site and some others about The Treehouse, I visited it last week while in Crossville area. It is a sight to behold and I highly recommend it.

Some UPDATES that I think are important. FIRST.....Horace Burgess, who built the treehouse is NOT DEAD. He was there when I visited and we had a long, friendly chat. The man is very kind and his stories are fascinating. Considering the structure has been exposed to weather for many years it seemed solid, safe and well constructed....although the floors do slope and slant in different areas.

Horace talked about the difficulty in keeping vandals out and maintaining the structure. Therefore, it was a bit messy in some areas.

The gate is usually open every day and it is OK to enter the area...Posted Signs are there to remove liability as people are entering at their own risk. But, if you are in the area....GO SEE IT and if you are lucky, you may just get to chat with Horace. [Loretta, 11/19/2008]

It's still there, and it's definitely worth seeing. Don't be put off by the "Private Property" or "Do Not Enter" signs, which seem to apply to the fields rather than the road. Keep going. It's magnificent, and it still attracts a lot of visitors. One woman we met has been coming for 14 years.

Climbing to the top is not for the timid. It's built with scrap wood.

The minister is apparently dead now, but his legacy lives on. [Terry, 09/06/2008]

The sign at last turn says "Treehouse Closed due to Vandalism." We still got a picture, but didn't get to see the inside. [Neal, 02/13/2007]

The treehouse is five stories tall (8,000 square feet, not counting the bell tower). It was built by a minister who says it was a calling from God to build it. I've been told that no power tools or levels were used to build it, every nail was put in by hand. [Faith, 09/02/2006]