If you’re ever walking around in the woods near Crossville, Tennessee, you might notice a strange, rustic-looking structure peering over the treetops. It looks like your average treehouse at first, but get closer, and you’ll see that it’s so much more.
This is Horace Burgess’ Treehouse, also known as the Minister’s Treehouse — a sprawling church built into the trees by one man. According to Burgess, he was on a divine mission.
Construction began on the treehouse church in 1993, after Burgess — a local minister — claimed to receive a message from God telling him to start building.
Burgess did most of the construction himself, and by 2013, the treehouse stood 97 feet tall, with multiple stories and a bell tower at the top.
It spans about 32,000 square feet in total.
From a distance, you can see the bell tower over the trees.
The treehouse has become a local attraction in Tennessee.
It leans on an 80-foot-tall white oak tree, as well as six other oak trees for support.
Burgess didn’t exactly plan out his structure. He just gathered some wood and went for it.
As a result, the treehouse is a bit…irregular.
It has a lot of quirky features, like spiral staircases and hidden rooms.
There’s even a swing!
And there are some life-sized statues of people praying….which look a bit menacing.
Some of the rooms in this treehouse have served as both places of worship and basketball courts.
Burgess just has some eclectic interests.
(via Lost At E Minor, Little Things, Wikipedia)
Although there’s no official record in the Guinness Book of World Records, it’s believed that Burgess’ creation is the largest treehouse in the world. It continues to fascinate locals, who regularly trek out into the woods to climb around on it, but it’s no longer technically open to the public. It was closed in 2012 by the state for not following fire codes. Of course, that doesn’t stop the most adventurous explorers!
