NC: Buddy Melvin’s Treehouse: 17 years, 16 rooms, 12,000 square feet “for the fellas to hang out.”

 

 

In 1997, Willie "Buddy" Melvin wanted to build a treehouse on family land outside of Roseboro. "Only, I didn't want a little boy's treehouse." He was 42 years old. With recycled lumber he built a room that wrapped around the base of a water oak. His friends came by to admire it, so he added to it. "Tearing down old houses and tobacco barns, cleaning up the wood, hauling it back here." He expanded it every year "except '02."

By 2014, Buddy Melvin's Treehouse had 16 rooms covering about 12,000 square feet.

"Two bathrooms, four bars, two bedrooms, a dance floor, a kitchen. I had a four-hole putt-putt in here at one time." Inside the VIP Bar and Lounge on the second floor you'll see polished wood surfaces, sofas, TVs, twinkling lights, music, easy chairs, a mural, sculptures. From a balcony seat perch "like the Apollo," you look down onto a large dance floor that can accommodate a band or a DJ. You can wander up to the Pool Room to play a round, walls adorned with art and posters (many showing off Livingstone College, Willie's school). You can kick back on the open-air deck. "It's a place for the fellas to hangout.

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