Tennessee has all sorts of hidden treasures, and this past weekend we explored one: the world’s biggest treehouse, just off Interstate 40 in Crossville up in the Cumberland Plateau.Words and pictures can’t fully convey the marvel of what Horace Burgess has created at the end of Beehive Road there. Inspired by God, since 1993 he’s been working on this expansive complex built on an around a towering white oak entirely of scrap and donated lumber. The house itself sprawls up and out in all directions, much like that massive tree.
It’s like a fun house on a grand scale with crooked, winding stairs, halls to nowhere, many rooms, layers of decks and ample seating area throughout. If you climb all the way to the top, you can ring the bells in the bell tower.
At center of this sprawling complex is a chapel which commands a moment of pause and reflection on all one man has achieved with materials which would have otherwise been thrown away. And he’s opened this labor of love to all, free of charge.If you go, bring a marker to show you’ve been there, and don’t miss the donation box near the winding stair climb along the tree into the complex.
His generous spirit deserves a little support; if he asked, many would be more than willing to pay for the privilege of rambling though the treehouse
You can read an article and see some great shots here
