Tolstoy Park hermit hut set to move to new nature preserve in Fairhope

Fairhope’s historic circular hut located in “Tolstoy Park” is on its way down the road to the Flying Creek Nature Preserve.

The small house, sometimes referred to as the “Hermit Hut,” was built in 1926 by Henry Stuart, an Idaho man who relocated to Fairhope after receiving a diagnosis for tuberculosis — then known as “consumption.”

Stuart had heard of the Fairhope Single Tax Colony and was intrigued by the teachings of Henry George, an economist whose theories shaped Fairhope’s founding.

A common treatment for consumption at the time was to move somewhere with a better climate, which Stuart’s doctor recommended.

He bought 10 acres of land in Fairhope and built the house that is now on the National Register of Historic Places by hand. He named the area “Tolstoy Park” after Leo Tolstoy.

Miraculously, Stuart lived 23 more years despite a dire prognosis — he was about 88 when he died in 1946.

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The hut attracts visitors near and far

The small, circular hut with a domed roof is incredibly unique — it is only about 14 feet in diameter, and the floor was 16 inches below the land to keep it better insulated.

Stuart’s bed was a hammock high above the ground, and he used a ladder to access it.

Today, the hut is fully accessible to visitors and has a notebook where they can sign their names and hometowns, reminiscent of the log he kept of all his visitors while he was still alive.

Where is Tolstoy Park today?

Tolstoy Park and the iconic hut are located in the middle of an office park in the Montrose area. Sonny Brewer, who wrote Stuart’s story in his 2005 book “The Poet of Tolstoy Park,” has said that he wants his spirit to be back where it belongs in wooded “paradise.”

The hut is the only surviving portion of Stuart’s 10 acres.

“The spirit of one man’s will to live still exists as a genuine keepsake in every one of those 80-pound blocks he stacked in a circle to make his walls.”

Sonny Brewer

Now, there is an initiative to move the entire house to Flying Creek Nature Preserve, where it can be more accessible to visitors and be maintained by the City of Fairhope.

Fundraising goal reached

The Tolstoy Park Committee — of which Brewer is the co-chairman — has now raised the full $369,000 needed to relocate the Hermit Hut to the new nature preserve, matching a $184,500 pledge from the Fairhope Single Tax Corporation, he said in a letter to the Fairhope City Council in November.

More than 100 local donors gave between $20 and $1,000 each, and one supporter contributed $11,500. Two anonymous gifts of $100,000 and $50,000 closed the remaining gap this fall.

Once it’s moved, the round house will:

• Be preserved, maintained + protected
• Be located in a natural setting a short distance from its original location
• Be easier to find and access with other amenities at the park
• Increase visitors to the nature preserve, positively impacting the local economy
• Showcase the diversity of the local environment
• Increase educational + cultural opportunities for citizens, schools + organizations
• Add to the importance of the preserve as the northern terminus of Fairhope’s park system

Moving the hut

The Fairhope City Council is expected to consider approving the lowest bid for the hut’s relocation at its Aug. 24 meeting, AL.com reported. If approved, the move would begin within 90 days of a notice to proceed, meaning the hut could be relocated as soon as late 2026 or January 2027.

The move coincides with the hut’s 100th anniversary. Brewer has said the final concrete step was poured on Oct. 1, 1926.

In a November letter to Mayor Sherry Sullivan thanking her and the council for their support, Brewer added:

“I believe the movie based on my novel, The Poet of Tolstoy Park, will one day be made. And I am glad people will get to see firsthand Henry James Stuart’s odd little round house instead of a historic marker where it once stood.”

Visit the Hermit Hut

Anyone can visit the hut for free whenever they’d like.

Tolstoy Park is located at 22787 Highway 98 in the Montrose Office Park. Visitors can explore both the interior and exterior of the house.