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The interior of the Treehouse Bungalow has several chairs, table and even a bar in the small space.

The Historic Summit Inn Resort in Farmington, built in 1907, has gone out on limb, literally, with its latest attraction for guests and visitors.

Rising above the fourth hole on the hotel’s nine-hole golf course is a treehouse. Not any treehouse, but a piece of rustic architecture designed and built by “Treehouse Master’s” own renowned Pete Nelson. The design and building of the treehouse aired on the show’s second season in 2014 on Animal Planet.

Accessed by a suspension bridge, the one-room treehouse, named the Black Bear Bungalow Treehouse, is a serene, peaceful space that offers a tremendous treetop view – and an occasional passing black bear.

“We mentioned at this location we have seen a lot of black bears on the trail cameras,” says Amanda Voithofer, manager of the Summit Inn and daughter of owner Karen Harris.

Voithofer says her family learned about the treehouse show shortly before its first season through her sister, Kristi Leskinen, a professional skier who lives in Arizona, and they applied to be considered.

“The first season aired and we thought we missed out. But then we got a call in September of 2013 and the producers said they’d love to come out and do a site visit. A week later, Pete Nelson was on site choosing some trees and sketching. Three weeks later they were back and ready to build,” she says. The guests staying on-site were treated to being among the crew, who stayed at the Summit and dined in the restaurant.

Materials were shipped in to build the treehouse, however, some repurposed wood from the Summit’s ski lodge, which burned in 1967, was incorporated, Voithofer says. Several treasures from the hotel were integrated into the elegant-but-comfortable treehouse interior – a map of the former ski slopes, a reproduction of an original light fixture from the hotel, Mission-style furniture and stained glass. It’s shaped as an octagon, like the former ski lodge. The 100-square-foot enclosed treehouse has brightly colored stained-glass windows and a large attached porch, complementary to the grand porch found at the Summit Inn. The wooded setting with gentle breeze beckons visitors to relax and enjoy nature.

Now three years old, the treehouse continues to be an attraction guests can tour or rent for small gatherings.

For the second year, the Organization of Professional Archers will be on site in July for a professional archery competition and will complete their final shots from the treehouse. “It’s the signature shot for the competition,” Voithofer says. The archery organization is led by Levi and Samantha Morgan, professional archers from Uniontown.

Voithofer is the third generation of her family involved with the operations of the historic inn. It’s one of the last remaining grand-porch hotels in America. Opened in 1907, the hotel was built by a group of investors from Uniontown as a mountaintop resort with “natural air conditioning” on the Chestnut Ridge. The guest list boasts famous visitors including Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and Louie Chevrolet. When hard times fell on the coal industry in the 1950s, they fell on the Summit Inn, as well. It was purchased in 1963 by Voithofer’s grandparents, Donald and Eunice Shoemaker. Formerly the general manager for the Bedford Springs Hotel, Shoemaker and his wife made extensive renovations, adding private baths to each room and an indoor pool. Shoemaker’s daughter Karen continued to make improvements and today, Voithofer and her husband, Jeremiah, help run the family business. The resort offers the aforementioned golf course, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and local attractions in the Laurel Highlands including Ohiopyle, Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural masterpieces Fallingwater and Kentuck Knob, Fort Necessity and Laurel Caverns. The Summit closes November through the end of April for the winter.

For a tour of the treehouse or rental information, call the Summit Inn at 800-433-8594 or 724-438-8594.

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