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Martha Rixten had admired the old Catholic rectory house on Wolfe Island for a very long time before she bought it 30 years ago. She'd grown up on the island, a 15-minute free ferry ride from downtown Kingston, and dreamt one day of owning the home.
From the first day she walked through the front door, the owner says, "I felt I wasn't alone here. I felt surrounded by a loving energy, I heard footsteps. When my son was a little boy, he would walk past the bathroom door and close it. I asked him why. He said, 'because there are three ladies in there.'"
Rixten believes her 1901-era home is haunted. Occasionally, she'll hear what sounds like someone in work boots on the third floor, or a heavy object being dropped, when she knows she's alone. But that's not why she and husband Rod McDonald -- a fervent non-believer in the spirit world -- are selling (it's listed for $1.89-million).
After operating Wolfe Manor for the past six years as a bed and breakfast they feel it's time to take life a little easier and plan to build a smaller home down the road. When Rixten bought the 8,000-square-foot home it was a "shambles," she says. She spent the next quarter-century gutting the interior and rebuilding it to her high standard. She met McDonald and they built a 1,600-sq.-ft. west wing to live in and opened the adjacent old rectory as a seasonal B&B.
McDonald says Wolfe Manor could continue as a B&B -- the possibilities are endless -- perhaps it could become an artist's studio, spa or family compound.
"The island needs a seasonal high-quality restaurant. This place is fitted for a restaurant," McDonald says of the newer wing, pointing to the upgraded electrical service and roughed-in plumbing for additional toilets.
Listing agent Scott Stren of Harvey Kalles Real Estate says Wolfe Manor would be a "turnkey operation" for anyone interested in taking over the bed and breakfast. It even has reservations for its spring opening. With the separate smaller home next to the rectory, Stren says, "it would also offer privacy to the parents of a large family or it could be an ideal corporate retreat."
The rectory's main floor consists of one ensuite bedroom, open-concept eat-in kitchen and lounge with wood-burning fireplace, library and 14-foot ceilings. The other three ensuite guest suites on the second floor are reached by a refinished hardwood staircase. One suite consists of adjoining bedrooms; there are two additional fireplaces.
The third floor is a large open room dominated by a billiard table that had to be lifted into place by crane. The table stays, Rixten insists.
Stairs from this level lead up to a partially enclosed widow's walk, offering 360-degree views of the woodland and fields, Lake Ontario and Kingston beyond. The rectory features decks and verandas on three sides, with gardens and woods. There are two garden fountains and a path that leads to the still-in-use Roman Catholic church next door.
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