by Christine Lorraine Morgan, February 1, 2026

Joseph “Joe” Root, one of Erie’s true natural inhabitants, made Presque Isle his permanent home back when the thought of naming it a state park was just a sparkle in the state’s eye.

According to wikipedia, he was born in 1860 and died in 1912, although he appears to be fairly old in some of the rare photos of him that are available online.

He was born in Erie, and it is said that Joe left his childhood home as an adolescent (c. 1875) and replanted himself on Presque Isle, which was not a state park until 1921.

He was well known for being a “hermit.” His residence was a ramshackle hut, and he lived the lifestyle of an island castaway with “no phone, no lights and no motorcar, not a single luxury” by choice. He felt right at home on the peninsula, and was eventually dubbed the “King of Presque Isle.”

Considering the harshness of life along the lake shore year-round, he adapted his lifestyle, and learned to survive by fishing and ferretting out nature’s provisions. Rumor has it that Joe might have made a habit of dipping illicitly into the lighthousekeeper’s supply of tomatoes, an ongoing act of theft which was difficult to prove with no modern surveillance back then.

Cranberries were plentiful on Presque Isle in early autumn, which he probably enjoyed. He also was known to hunt for small game, and for eating raw fish. Some of the indigenous “side dishes” on his menu included wild plants like blueberries, wild strawberries, cattails and even rice. Other foods named at wikipedia on Joe’s dining list were duck potatoes, spatterdocks and dewberries.

Joe Root

A quote of Joe’s is shown beneath his picture at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center: “Ate fried mosquitoes, only the white meat, saved the dark for breakfast.”

According to wikipedia, “Root was a favorite with local children, entertaining them with ventriloquism and stories about his ‘friends.’ These friends were called the Jee-Bees (alternatively known as either GBs or jeebies); they were invisible nature spirits who could accurately predict the weather. During long winter nights, Root would walk to Erie to spend some time at the local poorhouse. Locals could sometimes see him walking on State Street with either a fishing net or a cane pole.”

As the years passed, his reputation as both a popular odd character and an unwelcome eccentric grew, and on April 14, 1910 Joe was involuntarily committed to the Warren State Hospital for the Insane following one of his brief visits to the Erie poorhouse.

Being forced to transform from a free-spirited tale teller, self-made man, naturalist and survivalist overnight into an “insane” inmate at a mental asylum may have helped cut his life short. Two years after he was committed, he died at the institution that had robbed him of his soul and spirit.

The legend of Joe Root lives on, through modern-day media and word-of-mouth stories. His name had been on a local restaurant near the entrance to Presque Isle but that establishment exists no more.

To help memorialize one of Erie’s early famous citizens, this image from the Hagen History Center has been colorized to help him stand out.

Image capture July 2025 at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center