History with ‘Hud’: Complex story of the Fort Fisher hermit

August 1, 2024

Matthew Huddleston,

FORT FISHER, NC (WWAY) — When most people think of Fort Fisher, they picture the Civil War events which took place there in the 1800s. But fewer people know of the far more recent story of the hermit who lived there for nearly two decades surviving off the land.

Robert Harrill (or Harrell) was born on February 2, 1893 in the piedmont of North Carolina. He spent a lot of time as a child in the woods, due to having abusive parents. Following a rocky upbringing, things would settle down for him in 1913, with Harrill getting married and the couple going on to have five children.

But more hard time arose with the suicide of their oldest son and subsequent mental health issues Harrill developed.

Harrill and his wife soon divorced, and he would eventually be committed to a mental hospital in Morganton. But he found freedom in 1955 at 62 years old, walking away or escaping the hospital and hitchhiking more than 250 miles to the Carolina Beach area. He walked the rest of the way to the end of the land at Fort Fisher, becoming a hermit.

He set up a new home in a tent near the confederate monument and eventually transitioned into an abandoned World War Two bunker which had once housed weapons of war.

Harrill survived by scavenging from the beach, fishing and clamming, as well as eating from a vegetable garden he used to supplement his diet. He learned much of what he knew from a true hermit in the area, Empie Hewett, who also lived off the local land. Harrill eventually developed a philosophy for School of Common Sense, relying on simple living principles.

At first, he was deemed a nuisance by local authorities, as a freeloader who lived illegally on land he didn’t own. But people slowly came around to the idea of having Harrill in town.

Over the next 17 years Harrill would live there, he became the second most-visited ‘tourist attraction’ in North Carolina, only behind the Battleship North Carolina. It’s estimated more than 17,000 people would come each year to get a look at Harrill or event take pictures with him, with their visits being marked in a guestbook.

Those visitors helped Harrill survive in ways the land couldn’t provide, dropping money in a frying pan he had set up as he played the part of a showman.

But rumors developed Harrill had thousands of dollars hidden in his bunker, so he was once kidnapped and robbed. But a far worse, mysterious end to the story would come in June of 1972.

Robert Harrill was found dead one morning by a local fisherman. Reports say he was bloodied and covered in sand. While the official report of his unusual death was ruled a heart attack, others believe he was murdered.

A witness claims to have seen a group of three people speeding away from the area in a car before Harrill’s body was found. Some say it could have been a prank gone wrong, while others think it was intentionally sinister.

Whatever the cause, there was no original autopsy completed on Harrill and the case was ruled unsuspicious. But Harrill’s son agreed to a second autopsy in 1984, with the results being inconclusive.

Harrill was originally buried in a cemetery off River Road near Fort Fisher but later moved to the Federal Point Cemetery on Dow Road in Carolina Beach, where he remains to this day.

It’s now been more than 50 years since the hermit called the region home, but his bunker is still there and can be visited via the Hermit Trail at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. His life has been commemorated with books, films and even a theatre production.

Whatever happened to Robert Harrill in his final hours remains a debated mystery. But the impact he had on the region and the thousands of people who interacted with him is still being felt today.