The Hermit came about as Bill Howard and William English were discussing the hermit's back story for The Great Dismal. Bill Howard put together the story to be featured as a post credits sequence, and in the process developed into a short film in its own right. The post credit sequence at the time of filming would be the longest post credit sequence of any feature length film.
The Hermit is the post-credit scene of The Great Dismal, and the prequel telling the story of how the Hermit of the Great Dismal Swamp came to be.
The courtroom scene is an actual courtroom, with the judge, bailiff, and many of the people in the courtroom actual court employees.
The end of the film concludes with the Hermit taking a coin attached to a key ring back from the camper man. The coin was meant to have a larger meaning, but Howard was unable to add the extra portion to the story. Initially it was meant to be all the Hermit kept from his previous life, a gift from his deceased mother. Unfortunately, a scene couldn't be added to The Great Dismal to tie the piece together.