Renegade Ski Mountain Resort Have you ever looked up to a mountainside with wonder, thinking of the things that have happened there? Who lived their first? What life was like there? Well this next locale certainly evokes all of those questions. The Cumberland Plateau is a treasure trove for historians like Amanda and I, its past echoing all the way back to the Woodland Native Americans where the Crab Orchard region was a palisade. Up on a mountain top near Fairfield Glade, Tennessee a local banker of the area, named Millard Oakley and a physician named Richard Evans had a vision of building a Ski resort. With his associate Jim Wilson, plans grew and took shape for a resort upon Renegade Mountain. They formed a corporation called Renegade Resort and Vacation properties. Their goal was a first class ski resort on Renegade Mountain at neighboring Crab Orchard, Tn. Now as you can imagine this was no easy feat, on top of a mountain in Tennesee. Building roads and ski lanes, lifts and etc. Lot's of determination and planning took place for this to happen. It was the early 1960's when they got started and in the winter of 1962 the owners had the chair lift fully functional. The first season was weak, and snowfall wasn't great for the resort. The snow making equipment was not that extensive at that time. They boasted, one chair lift, one J bar and two rope tows. A clubhouse was built and German food was being served year round'. People from Knoxville, Crossville, and Nashville alike were traveling to the area. There was a large ski school and practice slope. The main slope was 3,200 ft long with a total of four slopes in the 1970 season. It makes you wonder who inspired who. Were the creators of Ober Gatlinburg inspired by the grand ideas of Millard Oakley. After some fly-by-night dealings and sketchiness, the community and resort were headed for the beginning of the end. At some point in 1971 a group called American recreational services took over the property. The club was 36,000 sq ft and boast the lounge from New York's St Moritz Hotel. A lawsuit was filed in late 71' and that was it for Renegade Mountain until 1980. Four new owners would actually carry out the original plans and build the 18hole golf course, finish the club house and olympic swimming pool. They also invested over 3 million dollars into the reparations of the roads. New snow machines were purchased for use on the site, and an expanded ski program was created. New all weather tennis courts and condominums were built. 1983 Peter Schuster and Harold Dude from Hamburg, Germany took over the Renegade Mountain Ski Resort. Peter was involved in a bad Polo accident and was killed in early 80s. He was eventually replaced by his brother. Some additional bad investments went down and money was lost to investors in Florida, putting the property at risk. In 1986 the ownership shifted and the property was renamed Cumberland Gardens. The property was then taken over by Hans Seivert an ex WWII Nazi Pilot. Even more roads were built, and the golf course was under constant construction until Hans passed away in 1991. One of the main common factors for the demise of the property was the warm weather in the winters.
They had great snow making equipment but you can't make snow in warm weather and that is that. On top of the bad habit of poor management. An Ancient Cherokee Native American burial ground sits among it's summit and the Trail of the Tears starts near it's base, it is no overstep to say that Renegade Mountain has a ton of history. The 36,000 sq ft lodge was destroyed by arson fire in 2001. People have blamed everything from bad management, to bad weather for the failure of the Renegade Mountain but when asking local real estate experts they claim that infrastructure costs on the mountain are simply too high to support the price that developers can expect to charge for their lots. At 2,500 ft high, it is one of the highest peaks in the state outside of the Smoky Mountains. By 1990 DG Bank of Frankfurt Germany owned the resort and was making an attempt to operate both the slopes and the golf course. They invested heavily into the project however, 2008 was the last year the golf course was operational due to the rising costs of keeping up with the grading issues and drainage. Shallow soil layer makes the ground unsuitable for septic systems. Finally around the year 2000 the German bank sold 3,000 acres of the formerly 6,000 acre resort for $3.5million to a group that includes some of the current investors. Security has been let go, and their post sits abandoned at the front of the resort. The last plans to be brought to the attention of the present day owners was one to re-open 9holes of the 18 hole course for golfing. But that hasn't seemed to come to fruition. To add to the mystery and turmoil of this area, a horrifically superfluous murder was committed on it's grounds. On September 12, 2013 Jacob Bennett, 26; had shot and killed 4 young people, Rikki Jacobsen, 22; her nephew Dominic Davis 17;and their friends Steven Presley, 17; and John Lajeunese,16. They were found on the roadside of Renegade Mountain Rd in their vehicle dead by a neighboring resident. Jacob Bennett and his girlfriend Brittany Lina Yvonn Moser, 25, have been charged with four counts of felony murder along side Jacob Bennett. This property has been through some repeated tough times. Although very little research has been done there, Archaeologists have studied the furs, burials and tools left behind and found that the way they were left seems to give the idea of a people at war. Later in history, the year 1794 showed Renegade mountain much blood shed for soldiers, in the Skirmish of Crab Orchard. The land was then used as a source of entertainment, however all that remains are the rusted steel posts of the chair lift, a haunting deteriorating water tower and an overgrown golf course. Is it the land that is tainted? Is this community forever to be doomed? All I know is, I will most certainly be back to explore the nature trails, golf course and the swimming pool complex soon.
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In the midwest and south, many people have had family members who worked in mines. The Mining operations were the lifeblood which helped spawn prosperity in what would otherwise be desolate little towns. When we drove through the town of Briceville, we noted the small town feel, the little school only steps from the mining operations. These little coal towns died out, as the veins of coal ran dry, and slowly the hustle bustle disappeared, but not before killing hundreds in mining disasters. Mining operations began at the Cross Mountain Mine/ Briceville, Tn in 1888. It was here that a railroad spur line was extended up to the Coal Creek Valley and into Slatestone Hollow. Over the years, large amounts of coal dust had accumulated in the mine's shafts. On the cold morning of December 9, 1911, around 7:30am they say a roof collapse occurred near one of the mine's entrances, which released methane gas into the air. The gas and coal dust may have ignited when a miner approached the roof with an open flame. The explosion killed the 89 miners who had gone into the mine that morning. 84 had perished with only 5 being rescued. A crowd consisting of miners' families and onlookers quickly gathered at the Briceville Mine as miners and engineers immediately initiated a rescue operation. A ventilation fan was brought from a nearby mine and used to expel the volatile gases and force fresh air into the mine shafts. A rescue crew from the Bureau of Mines, which had been created the previous year, arrived in the afternoon equipped with gas masks and oxygen tanks. This team was the first mine rescue team to use caged canaries to detect dangerous changes in air quality well within the mine. If the birds didn't come back to them and died they knew not to enter. Water was piped into the mine from a nearby brook to help with the fire efforts. Around midnight, the first three bodies were brought out of the mine. and another two bodies were recovered the following day. On Monday, rescue workers followed miners' inscriptions to an area where five miners had barricaded themselves with several tubs of drinking water. Two of the miners were burned, and two had left the barricaded area to find a way out, although all five were found alive. On December 19, the last two mine Alonzo Wood and Eugene Ault were found dead behind another barricade. Before suffocating, Ault, and Wood managed to inscribe "farewell" messages to their families and loved ones on the mine wall. These inscriptions are also found on the face of their graves. The Cross Mountain Mine operation was one of the first major rescue efforts carried out by the Bureau of Mines and also an unfortunate learning lesson paid for in miners lives. Although only 5 of the 89 miners trapped by the explosion were rescued, the bureau collected invaluable information that aided later mine rescue efforts. The rescue effort also helped the bureau's public image, and ensured continued funding in the future.
The 84 miners killed as a result of the explosion were buried in several cemeteries in the Briceville-Fraterville area. At least 22 were buried in a circular memorial which became known as the Cross Mountain Miners' Circle. This circle is located at the south end of Briceville off Walden Ridge. Shortly after the disaster, the United Mine Workers of America placed a marble obelisk in the middle of the Cross Mountain Miners' Circle containing the names of all 84 miners killed in the Cross Mountain/Briceville Mine disaster. This memorial, around which a large cemetery has developed, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006. Others were buried at the Briceville Community Church cemetery, among them Eugene Ault, whose monument is inscribed with the "farewell message" he wrote on the wall of the mine as he lay dying. History has shown us that sometimes spirits guide our actions from beyond the grave. Sarah Winchester gave us her mystery house in San Jose, California in an effort to supposedly entertain and confuse the ghosts of those who were killed by the weapons her family created. It is the same kind of unexplained divine guidance that allowed the architect of “The Minister's Treehouse” to complete his dreams.
In the early 1990s, landscaper Horace Burgess bought some wooded property off Beehive Lane in Crossville, Tennessee. While touring the land, one of the bigger trees next to a dirt road caught his eye. He decided to build the world’s largest tree house in its branches. And just like that, construction began in 1993. He claimed that it was never a financial burden and noted how things seemed to fall together for him with ease. After a few years Horace's luck was changing, he was giving up and running out of materials. He claims to have turned to his faith in God, and became a pastor in the church. What's the New York expression, Bada bing bada boom, he had the motivation and suddenly the materials fell into his hands, he could now continue on for what would eventually be eleven years of labor. Horace started teaching sermons at the treehouse like it was it's own church. People that showed up, often wouldn't have ever attended an actual congregation, but would return to his tree house to hear the word of God. It was a way to touch the lives of people who may have never crossed the path of a godly person. On this unbiased, and level playing field Horace was able to influence masses and share the word of God. One man in particular stayed for three years. He spent his life here and eventually also his death. Horace decided to scatter his ashes from the top of the treehouse and finally buried the rest at the base. This man was just one of the many people that Horace Burgess touched in a way that he may never know. Horace had finally attained what he’d originally wanted: the largest tree house in the world. It spreads across not one, but seven big trees that grow through its floors and out its windows. It soars nearly 100 feet into the sky. Built organically without blueprints, its dimensions are a mystery even to Horace. To his best guess, it covers around 10,000 square feet. The treehouse even features a basketball court. Minister's treehouse was closed in 2012 by the Tennessee Fire Marshall, who says it’s a tourist attraction and therefore must conform to state building codes. It is the unofficial world's largest treehouse, as Guiness Book of Records does not have a category for it. Now you could be the proud owner of this property and maybe even hear the divine word of God, as the property is now for sale at $1.5 million dollars, with a listing out of Chattanooga, Tn with Keller Williams Realty. Unfortunately, it is no longer an easy adventure, because there is a newly built home in front. This home has a sensitive security system and a neighbor that likes to call the police, so unless your looking for a free ride in a police car, don't test your luck. #builtforjesus #religious #treehouse #historicarchaeology #forsale #ministerstreehouse #largesttreehouse |
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