Kure Beach, North Carolina: Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

At one time he was the second most popular tourist attraction in North Carolina.

Results 6 to 7 of 7...[Previous 5 items] Page of 2

Visitor Tips and News About Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

Reports and tips from RoadsideAmerica.com visitors and Roadside America mobile tipsters. Some tips may not be verified. Submit your own tip.

Hermit's lair.

Fort Fisher Hermit

Photo of the concrete bunker lair of North Carolina's Fort Fisher Hermit, who died in 1972. His tombstone reads: "He made people think."

[Juli Denning, 04/18/1998]

Fort Fisher Hermit

One of the most interesting locations "off the beaten path" is the home of Robert Harrill -- The Fort Fisher Hermit -- at Fort Fisher,just south of Wilmington, NC -- near the present-day NC Aquarium. Aside from the historical nature of the area, where the largest land-sea battle took place in the history of the world (prior to WWI), Robert Harrill lived there, in an abandoned WWII bunker for 17 years -- sort of like Henry D. Thoreau -- in "voluntary poverty". He became the largest tourist attraction in the area until his "mysterious death" in the summer of 1972.

[Michael Edwards, 07/26/1997]

[Previous 5 items] Page of 2

Memorial to a Bunker-Dwelling, Mysteriously-Dying Hermit

Fort Fisher

Address:: 1000 Loggerhead Rd, Kure Beach, NC
Directions:: Fort Fisher. I-40 until it ends, then south on Hwy 132/US 421 for 23 miles, through Kure Beach, to Fort Fisher State Recreation Area. Left onto Loggerhead Rd, and park at the Recreation Area. From the south end of the parking lot walk south to the beach on the Ramsgate Trail, then west to the Bunker on the Basin Trail. The Basin Trail is clearly marked by park signs to the "WWII Bunker." It's about a mile from the parking lot along the trail and over some boardwalks.
Hours:: Trail closes at dusk. (Call to verify) Local health policies may affect hours and access.
Phone:: 910-458-5798