Rockabilly legend Ronnie Hawkins is selling his massive estate in the Kawarthas

“Rompin” Ronnie Hawkins doesn’t have as much name recognition today as he did in the 1960s, when his musical stylings and on-stage charisma helped foster a now-legendary rock-and-roll scene on Yonge Street that spawned a generation of Canadian musicians. What Hawkins does have is a 70-hectare estate in the Kawarthas with an incredible 3,300 feet of frontage on Stoney Lake. It’s currently on the market for $4.25 million.

The property, known as Hawkstone Manor, was first listed for sale in 2013, for $14.9 million. Ross Halloran, Hawkins’ new listing agent, says there are a few reasons for the dramatic price cut. One is that Hawkins has subdivided the estate and sold off about 500 feet of shoreline property since the first listing, reducing the overall value of the remaining property. Also, according to Halloran, the initial asking price was based on the expectation that the buyer would be a housing developer. The current price reflects an expectation the buyer will use the land as a homestead, as Hawkins does. He’s now 82 and recovering from pancreatic cancer.

The property is a compound of buildings, each one with an incredible backstory. The main house, is a 5,600-square-foot, five-bedroom home:

It’s loaded with rock-and-roll memorabilia from Hawkins’ career, including photos of him with celebrities, like Bill Clinton, with whom he shares a birthplace (Arkansas):

Hawkins is a member of the Order of Canada:

John Lennon supposedly played this piano during a stay at Hawkstone Manor:

Here’s the living room:

The fate of all this memorabilia (that’s a Juno Award on the desk) is uncertain. Halloran says some of it may be sold along with the property, and there’s a possibility that some of the rest will be auctioned off:

Here’s the dining room:

The kitchen is old, but big:

One of the bedrooms, with a view of the lake:

Rush wrote its album Moving Pictures in this barn while the band’s members were living with Hawkins:

The compound also consists of two smaller cottages, located close to the shoreline:

And here’s an overhead view:

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