Robert Harrill

Robert E. Harrill (February 2, 1893 – June 4, 1972) was an American man known as The Fort Fisher Hermit. He became a hermit in 1955, at the age of 62. Harrill hitchhiked to Fort Fisher on the North Carolina Coast from Morganton, North Carolina, a distance of 260 miles (420 km). He had been committed to a mental hospital in Morganton, after his marriage failed. Harrill lived in an abandoned World War II bunker set in a salt marsh beside the Cape Fear River in the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area.

Robert Harrill
Robert Harrill outside his home
BornFebruary 2, 1893
Shelby, North Carolina[1]
DiedJune 4, 1972 (aged 79)
Fort Fisher State Recreation Area
OccupationHermit
Spouse(s)Katie Hamrick
Children5

Harrill fed himself by fishing and scavenging. He became a tourist attraction and visitors would come to hear about his "School of Common Sense", leaving donations in a frying pan. After living as a hermit for 17 years, he died under mysterious circumstances in 1972. The official cause of death was a heart attack. His life has been commemorated in book, film and theatre.

Early life

Robert E. Harrill was born in Shelby, North Carolina on 2 February, 1893. He was educated at Boiling Springs High School and then Gardner-Webb Jr. College.[1] His parents were abusive and he spent a lot of time in the local woods.[2] He married Katie Hamrick in 1913 and they had five children.[1] The eldest son committed suicide.[2] The family fell apart in the 1930s due in part to his mental health problems.[1]

Hermit
The hermit's bunker in October 2007

The name "The Fort Fisher Hermit" came from Fort Fisher and Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, where Harrill settled.[3] He arrived in 1955, having left a mental institution in Morganton and hitchhiking 260 miles (420 km).[4] At first Harrill lived in a tent near to the Confederate monument by the fort.[5] He then squatted in an abandoned World War II era bunker set in a salt marsh beside the Cape Fear River. He collected driftwood to furnish his humble house and was able to gather much of the food that he needed from the marsh.[6] He ate fish, clams and oysters, and planted a vegetable garden to supplement his diet.[7] Harrill learned many of his survival skills from Empie Hewett, a true hermit, who also lived in the salt marshes of the Fort Fisher area.[5] Harrill loved to talk to visitors, who left donations in a frying pan. His guestbook recorded thousands of entries.[6]

Attraction

Robert Harrill became the second largest tourist attraction in the state of North Carolina, trailing only the USS North Carolina in number of visitors.[5] Visitors to Carolina Beach would routinely take time to visit the hermit. He would talk about his philosophy, which he termed the "School of Common Sense".[2] He told people who came to see him that he was writing a book entitled A Tyrant in Every Home.[6] Alongside the curious, Harrill also met drunk youths and developers who wanted to evict him; two men even kidnapped and robbed him. After falling asleep on the beach, Harrill was arrested and charged with vagrancy, defending himself in court.[6]

Harrill also attracted a large number of journalists to his bunker with his lifestyle and beliefs. He explained his popularity in 1968:

Everybody ought to be a hermit for a few minutes to an hour or so every 24 hours, to study, meditate, and commune with their creator ... millions of people want to do just what I'm doing, but since it is much easier thought of than done, they subconsciously elect me to represent them, that's why I'm successful ...

— Robert Harrill, New Hanover Sun[6]

Death
Harrill's grave. Located at the Federal Point Cemetery, the headstone states "He made people think".

After living as a hermit for 17 years, Harrill died under mysterious circumstances on June 4, 1972.[1] The New Hanover County coroner pronounced the cause of death as a heart attack, but Harrill may have been killed after a violent attack by a group of three men. A fisherman alleged he saw the men speeding away in a car, but there was no autopsy and the case was closed as a natural death.[4][8] He was first buried in a cemetery off River Road near Fort Fisher, then later moved to the Federal Point Cemetery at Dow Road, Carolina Beach.[8][1]

Memorial and legacy

A documentary film directed by Rob Hill and narrated by Barry Corbin was released in 2007. It was called The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life and Death of Robert E. Harrill.[9] Hill filmed 35 hours' worth of material and interviewed 16 people who knew Harrill.[4] Fred Pickler knew Harrill and with Anne Russell co-authored the book Life and Times of the Fort Fisher Hermit, Through the Lens of Fred Pickler[10] A local theatre company producedThe Hermit of Fort Fisher, written by David Wright. It premiered in July 2014 at the Cape Fear Playhouse and had a sold out run.[11] Michael Edwards is president of the Hermit Society and wrote The Battle for Independence: The Story of the Fort Fisher Hermit.[6]

The bunker where Harrill lived is still standing and can be reached by following the Basin Trail at the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area.[12] A plaque on the bunker commemorates his occupation.[7]

References
  1. "The Fort Fisher Hermit". Federal Point Historic Preservation Society (May). 1995. Archived from the original on 2020-05-11. Retrieved 2020-05-22.
  2. Rob Hill. "The Fort Fisher Hermit: The Life & Death of Robert E. Harrill". Common Sense Films. Archived from the original on 2008-05-15. Retrieved 2020-06-07.
  3. Edwards, Michael F. (2002). The Last Battle for Independence: The Story of the Fort Fisher Hermit (1st ed.). Wilmington, North Carolina: The Hermit Society. 115551.
  4. Jeri Rowe. "Chasing the gentle spirit of a hermit". Greensboro, North Carolina News-Record. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  5. Ben Steelman (2009-08-15). "Eye on the Fort Fisher Hermit". Star News Online. Archived from the original on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2009-08-16.
  6. "A Hermit's Path". University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Archived from the original on April 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-05-12.
  7. Molloy, Johnny (2020). Coastal trails of the Carolinas. ISBN 9781493041725.
  8. Townsend, Bob (17 February 2010). "Case closed, mystery lingers around the death of the Fort Fisher Hermit". WECT. Archived from the original on 30 August 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  9. "The Fort Fisher Hermit (film)". UNC-TV. Archived from the original on 2007-07-14. Retrieved 2007-05-13.
  10. Carver, Shea (21 July 2015). "OUTDOORS WITH THE HERMIT: Local legacy of Robert Harrill comes to Greenfield Lake Amphitheater". ILM's Alternative Weekly Voice. Encore. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
  11. Rohler, Gwenyfar (9 September 2014). "Reviving History: 'The Hermit of Fort Fisher' succeeds at celebrating Wilmington's past". ILM's Alternative Weekly Voice. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  12. "Fort Fisher State Recreation Area". Charlotte Observer. n.d. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
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