A couple of years ago I went on a road trip with my bestie, Sara. We had a blast exploring good old Gatlinburg, TN. Our trip included Dollywood, the aquarium, the space needle, and some honky tonk bars.
One thing you should know about Sara is that she LOVES roadside attractions. I got her a book about all the different stops in America and she is slowly making her way to them. So naturally this trip would be no exception.
That is what brought us to this place: The Minister’s Treehouse in Crossville, TN.
The Minister’s Treehouse is the largest treehouse in the world. And yes it has a bad ass swing! It spreads across 7 big trees that grow through its floors and out of its windows. It soars 100 feet into the sky. No blueprints here, it was literally pieces of plywood and scrap wood just casually nailed together.
Built by Horace Burgess in the 90s and taking 11 years to complete, he did it for the Lord. “If you build Me a tree house, I’ll never let you run out of material.” Sounds like a Kevin Costner movie, right? But it was clear as we explored this place, it was most definitely a place of some kind of worship.
As we started exploring more levels we could hear religious music starting to play…and it was kind of creepy with all the hippie paintings and religious wood sculptures.
And then we made it all the way to the rickety top, the treehouse swaying back and forth in the wind and saw this:
Now don’t get me wrong….I respect everyone’s right to believe in whatever they want. I myself am not a religious person, but I do like to admire religious paintings and churches on my travels to learn more about different cultures and points of view. (I went to art school after all and lived in France for a quarter studying Art History aka museums and churches all day, everyday) But there was something kind of Wanderlust meets the People’s Temple vibe about this place.
As we started heading down the riggidy stairs, we stumbled into what seemed to be a ceremony about to start. We did not stay to see what it would entail, but I can only imagine. Sadly, the Minister’s Treehouse is no longer open to the public, but it was definitely a roadside attraction worth stopping by.
Christina Ellis 