|
Robert Harrill
Robert E. Harrill, or Harrell (February 2, 1893 – June 4, 1972), was an American man also known as the Fort Fisher Hermit. He became a hermit in 1955, at the age of 62, having hitchhiked to Fort Fisher on the North Carolina coast from Morganton, North Carolina. He had previously been committed to a mental hospital in Morganton, after his marriage failed. Harrill settled in an abandoned World War II bunker set in a salt marsh beside the Cape Fear River in the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. Harrill fed himself by fishing and scavenging. He and his bunker became a tourist attraction and visitors would listen to him talk 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, with the official cause of death given as a heart attack. His life has been commemorated with books, films and a theatre production. Early lifeRobert 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, which led to him spending much of his time in the local woods.[2] He married Katie Hamrick in 1913 and they had five children.[1] The eldest son committed suicide and the family later fell apart in the 1930s due in part to Harrill's mental health problems.[2][1] He was also known as Robert Harrell.[3] Hermit The name "Fort Fisher Hermit" came from Fort Fisher and the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area, where Harrill settled.[4] He arrived in 1955, having left a mental institution in Morganton and then hitchhiking 260 miles (420 km) to the coast.[5] At first Harrill lived in a tent near to the Confederate monument by the fort.[6] 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 home and was able to gather much of the food that he needed from the marsh.[7] He ate fish, clams and oysters, and planted a vegetable garden to supplement his diet.[8] 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.[6] Harrill loved to talk to visitors (who left donations in a frying pan) and his guestbook recorded thousands of entries.[7] AttractionRobert Harrill became the second largest tourist attraction in the state of North Carolina, trailing only the USS North Carolina in terms of numbers of visitors.[6] Visitors to Carolina Beach would routinely take time to call on the hermit, and 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.[7] Alongside the curious, Harrill met drunk youths and developers who wanted to evict him; two men even kidnapped and robbed him. Once, after falling asleep on the beach, Harrill was arrested and charged with vagrancy, defending himself in court.[7] Harrill also attracted a large number of journalists to his bunker interested to write about his lifestyle and beliefs. He explained his popularity in 1968:
Death 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, yet local rumours suggested Harrill may have been killed after a violent attack by a group of three men, a fisherman alleging that he saw them speeding away in a car. However, there was no autopsy and the case was closed as a natural death.[5][9] When Harrill's son agreed to a second autopsy in 1984, the body was exhumed but the test results were inconclusive.[10] Harrill was first buried in a cemetery off River Road near Fort Fisher, and then later moved to the Federal Point Cemetery at Dow Road, Carolina Beach.[9][1] Memorial and legacyHarrill's life has been remembered with books, films and a theatre production. 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.[11] Hill filmed 35 hours' worth of material and interviewed 16 people who knew Harrill.[5] 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.[12] A local theatre company produced The Hermit of Fort Fisher, written by David Wright. It premiered in July 2014 at the Cape Fear Playhouse and had a sold-out run.[13] The Hermit Society was founded to commemorate the life of Harrill; president Michael Edwards wrote The Battle for Independence: The Story of the Fort Fisher Hermit.[7] The society gives out certificates to graduates of the "School of Common Sense".[3] The bunker where Harrill lived is still standing and can be reached by following the Basin Trail at the Fort Fisher State Recreation Area.[14] A plaque on the bunker commemorates his occupation.[8] References
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
