Horace Burgess's Treehouse
Large treehouse in Tennessee, US (1993–2019)
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Horace Burgess's Treehouse (also known as the Minister's Treehouse) was a treehouse and church in Crossville, Tennessee, United States. Construction began in 1993, mostly by Burgess, who says that, in a vision, God commanded him to build a treehouse. It became a popular local attraction and was unofficially called the largest tree house in the world.[1] It was closed by the state on August 30, 2012, for fire code violations.[2] On October 22, 2019, the tree house completely burned to the ground in less than 15 minutes under unknown circumstances.[3][4]
History and description
Horace Burgess, a local minister, was praying in 1993 when he said God told him, "If you build a tree house, I'll see that you never run out of material."[1] Inspired by the vision, Burgess began building the treehouse and continued working on it for the next 12 years.[3] The 97-foot-tall (30 m) tree house and church was supported by a still-living 80 ft (24 m) white oak tree with a 12 ft-diameter (3.7 m) base, and relied on six other oak trees for support.[5] He built it using 258,000 nails with a nailgun, and about 500 pounds of penny nails driven by hand.[3] The treehouse was located on Beehive Lane in Crossville, Tennessee.[6]
Over time, Burgess' treehouse became a popular tourist attraction.[7] Burgess officiated 23 weddings in the treehouse church,[3] and when not in service, the sanctuary doubled as a basketball court.[8] Although there is no Guinness World Records category for largest treehouse, it was often referred to as the world's largest.[9] Pete Nelson, the host of Treehouse Masters on Animal Planet, who has written six books about treehouses and owns a business building them, said it was "by far" the largest in the world.[3]
In August 2012, the structure was closed to public access by the state because it had become a public attraction but did not follow building and fire safety codes.[10][2] It was a "deathtrap", said one official, "it was very cool, but also very dangerous."[4] The structure stood vacant and dilapidated for years, becoming a frequent target of vandalism.[11] On October 22, 2019, the treehouse and its supporting trees completely burned to the ground in an inferno lasting about 15 minutes.[12] The fire department responded; however, by the time they arrived nothing was left to save.[11] "It was basically a pile of rubble when we pulled up. The fire was so intense we had to park 500 yards away", said an official.[4] Fire officials said there was no electricity on site and no electric storms. The recent new owner of the treehouse, who had no insurance, declined to open an investigation.[3] Burgess said most of the marriages he officiated there had not lasted, and that he was relieved after the fire; the treehouse had "always been a pain" he said.[3]