If You Want to Take a Look at the Unabomber's Cabin, You Need Only Schedule a Tour

On April 3, 1996, two F.B.I. agents dressed as mining officials accompanied a forest ranger to a remote cabin outside of Lincoln, Mont. A manhunt for an individual they dubbed the Unabomber was about to come to a close. His crimes began in 1978, but his identity would puzzle authorities for nearly two decades. The nickname Unabomber was code for the UNIversity and Airline BOMbing targets involved in his attacks, but his real name was Ted Kaczynski.

The motivation of the Harvard-educated mathematician was simple: bring down the institutions that fostered systemic failings. When the agents knocked on his door, he calmly opened it up and said, "Let me get my coat." Kaczynski was arrested, tried, convicted, and handed eight life sentences. On June 10, 2023, he died by suicide in prison.

Believe it or not, his last home is available for viewing. One need only book a tour to get a glimpse of Ted Kaczynski's cabin. Here's what we know.

At F.B.I. headquarters in Washington, D.C. sits the F.B.I. Experience, an exhibit that highlights work the bureau has done via evidence culled from previous cases. In 2020, Ted Kaczynski's cabin was reconstructed and added to the exhibit. Obviously it's been emptied of the hundreds of pieces of evidence F.B.I. found at the scene, but the ramshackle structure is still a haunting sight to behold.

Photographs of the interior of Kaczynski's cabin were obtained by the Independent Record. At first glance, all you can see is chaos. It's small, and every available inch is occupied. The haphazard shelving on the back of the cabin looks precarious on its best day. Food and tools share the same space, standing side-by-side in stark juxtaposition with each other.

The F.B.I. also found what essentially amounts to a confession in the form of "thousands of pages of handwritten notes," detailing the 16 bombings for which Kacynski was responsible. And of course, authorities found bombs, as well as bomb-making materials. Kacynski was once quoted as saying, "It would be better to dump the whole stinking system and take the consequences." The consequences for his actions certainly caught up with him and are now on display.

Unfortunately, getting into the F.B.I. Experience feels nearly as difficult as getting into the actual F.B.I. First of all, your visit "must be scheduled no later than four weeks in advance of your desired visit date." How does one schedule this? Well, you have to contact your congressional representative and request a tour.

Like all things government-related, this is needlessly complicated. Next, you'll receive two emails that could have been one email. One "confirms your congressional representative scheduled the correct tour date and time," while the other "verifies your tour time and approval to enter FBI space and provides tour logistics you need to know prior to your visit."

Before you go, here's what you gotta know. You have to be a U.S. citizen or possess a valid green card. It's only open weekdays between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., so you might have to take off work. And, obviously don't bring anything to the F.B.I. Experience that you couldn't take through TSA security at the airport. It's the same vibe.