For the past few weeks, we had been discussing plans for the upcoming MLK weekend, stay at home, overnight or day trip?! At some point an afternoon trip to Crossville entered the conversation (it might have been John, it definitely wasn’t me). Crossville, TN really?! What can you do in Crossville for an entire afternoon? Well, the answer just might surprise you…
I believe that half the fun of any trip is planning, but finding enough things to do to fill an afternoon in the self proclaimed “Golf Capital of Tennessee” challenged me a bit. Discarding the Cumberland Playhouse (on break till the end of January) and golfing (cause we don’t) left me with a short list: The Minister’s Tree House, Cumberland Mountain State Park and Homesteads Tower Museum.
Our list narrowed by a third when I discovered the museum was closed for the day. This left us with two sights fill an entire afternoon, could be dicey. We knew what to expect from the state park (we have visited several times), but the Minister’s Tree House, now that had us scratching our heads.
Crossville, population 11,900 (about) and self proclaimed “Golf Capital of Tennessee”
It was almost noon on Sunday when we jumped in the car and headed west toward Crossville, an easy 1 hour and 20 minute drive from Knoxville on I-40. Since the Minister’s Tree House was first on our list, we exited the interstate at #320, turned right on Hwy 298, right again on Cook Rd, left on Beehive then drove about 1/2 mile on a partially gravel road. Easy, peasy!
The gravel road led us to an open farm gate with “No Trespassing” signs on both sides. As we drove through the gate (obviously ignoring the signs), a most amazing structure came into view. A jumble of plywood and odd pieces of lumber that seemed to stretch toward the sky. We had arrived, the Minister’s Tree House.
The “Ministers Tree House”
Words of warning at the entrance!
Here’s a little history about the Minister’s Tree House. In 1993, minister Horace Burgess had a vision. God spoke to Horace and said that if he would build God a tree house, he would never run out of material. So, for 14 years Horace has been working on his tree house and has apparently never run out of material (as evident by the piles of scrap lumber scattered about the property).
The tree house is built around an 80′ white oak tree with 6 other trees serving as pillars. Standing some 90+’ tall, the structure has between 8,000 and 10,000 sq. feet and is held together with 258,000 nails. The building is multi-level with numerous decks, rooms and dead end staircases. A sanctuary can be found on the 4th level, chapel on the 1st and belfry complete with bells at the top. There is an open deck on top of the belfry but that just too much to think about!
Most of the walls (and windows) are covered eclectic artwork, wall hangings, signs, sayings, names and dates. We explored for over an hour. We did not chance the flat wall ladder to the belfry and top deck and I am sure we missed some of the countless nooks and crannies scattered about.
John in front of the entrance to the tree house
The 4th floor sanctuary as viewed from the 5th floor
Another picture of the sanctuary
The windows and walls are filled with graffiti
In one of the rooms above the sanctuary, we found a room filled with Bible figures, probably Jesus and the Disciples
More figures (note the artwork behind the carvings)
“Owl we need is love”
Photo from the top floor, we did not go into the belfry
Incredible
A mosaic of small boards lined a stairway that twists around the big white oak. I believe every one of the boards contains a name, written message or date.
A rather frightening swing
A swing was hung from a small platform secured about five stories above ground. Two pieces of very long, thick nylon rope secured the swing to the platform. I gazed long and hard at the platform and would swear it looked like a piece of weather worn plywood, nevertheless, I plopped myself in the seat and started to swing.
The chair appeared to be a handicap shower chair with strips of duck tape for seat webbing. Duck tape was also strategically wrapped around sections of the rope. I didn’t want to think too hard about that.
Is that a look of panic on my face?
On our way out of the house, we heard a lady mutter about the lack of “Beware” or “Caution” signs. We were surprised too, we could see a careless visitor threatening suit. I am guessing that Horace Burgess expects you to take responsibility for yourself and family members when exploring on his private property.
We passed Stonehaus Winery on our way to and from the Minister’s Tree House. Stonehaus Winery was not originally on our list of places to visit but as you know by now, our list was pretty short and we had only spent an hour exploring the Tree House so John suggested we stop and taste. I was reluctant about “Tennessee” wine, home grown in red clay, but John was driving so we stopped.
Stonehaus Winery
Wineries are like gambling joints, they never look quite like one expects they should. The tasting room had a large bar and a number of wine related gifts. A second room was filled with trinkets, gourmetish foods and sauces. Several cute t-shirts caught my eye including the one below.
‘Nuff said
We slid up to the bar and began tasting… Merlot, Pinot Gris, Homestead White, Fairfield Red, Lantana White, Blackberry Summer, Raspberry Mist, Orange Squeeze. Stonehaus offers free wine tasting but I think the wine pourer was ready to cut us off. Finally we selected bottles of Merlot, Homestead White and Blackberry Summer and a jar of Chili Stone ground mustard for dipping.
John at the wine bar
I was wrong about Tennessee wine, at least about Stonehaus Wines. If you are in the neighborhood, stop by Stonehaus on the corner of Hwy 298 and Cook Road. The tastes are free and you might find something you like.
Last stop for the day was Cumberland Mountain State Park. The stone bridge is my favorite structure in this park. We are looking forward to early spring, renting a cabin and going to a play at Cumberland Playhouse (and maybe back to Stonehaus Winery)! Additional pictures are here.
