The Largest (Abandoned) Treehouse in the World: The Minister's Treehouse

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Are you ready for one of our coolest adventures yet?! As we approached the giant locked gate, followed by the boldly-lettered “No Trespassing” sign, we looked at each other, recalled our intention and with no more than a moment’s hesitation, we hopped the fence.

Originally intended as “God’s house, where everyone is welcome,” for years there were no “Private Property,” “Stay Off the Grass,” or “No Climbing” signs. The only two signs to be found read “Welcome” and “No Smoking” which, for a house made of timber, made total sense. Unfortunately, with the mixed intentions of visitors over time, this sacred and intriguing structure was vandalized and dishonored, resulting in its ultimate shut down by the Fire Marshall. Though, we were told, that if your intention is purely to marvel and appreciate the heart and soul that went into building this structure, your presence is still welcome.

As we continued in our approach, it seemed as if the treehouse grew taller with every step, like something straight out of Alice in Wonderland!

The closer we got, the more details were made visible: 97-feet of artfully placed wooden planks, the highest hanging swing we had EVER seen, a Southern-style porch that swirled around the entire perimeter of all 5 stories and an incredibly gnarly tower that housed a spiral staircase soaring all the way to what is known as the “Buzzard’s Roost” at very top!

We cautiously and curiously crept up the meandering paths of creaking wood planks and were amazed and inspired by the treasures that appeared behind every corner…

A bit of history on the place: Construction began in 1993 after Minister Horace Burgess received a message from God while praying, “If you build a tree house, I’ll see that you never run out of material.” Inspired by his God-given vision, the quiet minister set out to build the largest treehouse in the world which now contains 80 rooms, and is complete with a church, basketball hoop (?!) and bell tower.

The bell tower, located at the very top of the treehouse’s spiraling roost, is equipped with repurposed oxygen tanks that now serve as bells. These bells used to chime daily when Horace was able to welcome guests. Be sure to watch our video as we tour the Minister’s Treehouse and hear us ring the bells at the very end!

If you get the chance to visit this wondrous place, be sure to honor all of the hard work that went hammering each nail and placing each plank, making one man’s dream, and God-given purpose, a reality.