'Last American Man' facing shutdown from North Carolina government for not adhering to building codes

By BETH STEBNER
The Daily Mail
Mar. 19, 2013

A man who has dedicated nearly 30 years to building and living off of his 500-acre farm is facing having his entire way of life shut down by the state government.

Eustace Conway, 51, who has been called ‘The Last Great American Man’ for his rustic way of living, could lose his camp in the Appalachian Mountains, his home for the past three decades.

The Watauga County Planning Department in North Carolina has found several health and sanitary violations in his encampment and has threatened to condemn the buildings.

Conway, who was given the title of the ‘last great American man’ by ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ author Elizabeth Gilbert in her 2002 biography, is fighting the department over their violations.

Their findings were summarized in a 78-page report.

Now the planning department is demanding that Conway either tear down his structures or rebuild them in-line with public housing codes.