Home in forest for sale
Stoney Lake property belonging to Ronnie Hawkins has hosted rock legends from Lennon to Lightfoot
Four years after rock legend Ronnie Hawkins failed to sell his 175-acre Hawkstone Manor, it’s back on the market — for $10.65-million less.
In 2013, Hawkins listed his home and its 3,300 feet of Stoney Lake frontage for $14.9 million.
This summer, the more than 5,600 square feet of home — split between a main house and two guest cottages — is up for sale for a more modest $4.25 million.
“My wife says we’re moving closer to the doctors and the hospital. That’s what she says about me because I’ve got one foot in the grave and another in a pile of WD40 so she’s looking after me,” says the 82year-old Hawkins inside his home of 46 years.
The home is lined with thousands of framed photos and memorabilia of the famous Arkansas-born rocker and his friends, including his Order of Canada medal — one of just a few given to non-Canadians.
“Well I’ll tell ya, we’ve had an awful lot of people here — superstars — over the years,” he said, laughing. “In fact, if this house could write a book, a bunch of them would have to leave the country!”
Dubbed “Canada’s Graceland,” it has welcomed John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Oscar Peterson, Blue Rodeo, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel, Mickey Jones, David Clayton-Thomas and Ian and Silvia Tyson, among others. Rush’s double-platinum album
Moving Pictures, including its smash hit “Tom Sawyer,” was recorded in Hawkins’s barn while the band lived in his home.
“It says on the back ‘the best sound they ever got’ and it was the biggest album at the time. They recorded at the Ronnie Hawkins farm right here on Stoney Lake,” he adds.
Last year, Gordon Lightfoot — who wrote his hit “Sundown” at one of the property’s cottages — returned to Hawkstone Manor with Kris Kris- tofferson to record a new version of “Me And Bobby McGee.”
“The Hawk,” who has recently battled pancreatic cancer and is a candidate for cataracts surgery, continues to live life to the full and open his home up to his friends, according to those around him.
But now Hawkins, friend to Bob Dylan and president Bill Clinton, is moving on and downsizing with his wife, Wanda.
“It’s time. I can’t look after it anymore and I can’t play any dates. As long as I could play dates I could keep it up but I can’t anymore so we decided to sell this beautiful place baby,” Hawkins said.
Ross Halloran, the couple’s real estate agent, hopes a potential buyer will be someone who intends to build a family compound and continue the property’s rich history of entertainment and hosting in the Kawarthas.
Halloran describes the home as a museum but understands new ownership may want to knock it down — hence the $10-million discount.
“When people come and look at Hawkstone Manor, they don’t just see a piece of property, they see a piece of Canadian musical history.”
Wanda’s convinced theirs is the most beautiful property on Stoney Lake. “We have an incredible view. The sun sets here every day and the sky changes colours and it reflects off the water, it’s just the most beautiful place to be,” she said. “We’re excited to pass this beautiful property onto someone who will enjoy it as much as we have.”