The Deer Isle home of the late musician Dan Fogelberg is now on the market for $2.4 million. This waterfront property, located off Eggemoggin Reach, was where Fogelberg found solace and inspiration for his music. Many of his personal belongings from the estate will also be auctioned this month.
Fogelberg, known for his soft-rock hits from the ’70s and ’80s such as “Same Old Lang Syne” and “Leader of the Band,” passed away in 2007 at the age of 56 due to prostate cancer. He spent his final years at this Deer Isle home, which he built with his wife, Jean Fogelberg. His ashes were scattered in Eggemoggin Reach, the inspiration for his song “The Reach” from the 1981 album “The Innocence Age.”
Jean Fogelberg is selling the property as she plans to move back to California. The 6,575-square-foot house sits on 5.5 acres and is listed by The Christopher Group, based in Blue Hill. “Sometimes in the evenings, we’d sit on the couch in his office and play guitar,” she reminisced. “We had this Beatles complete songbook, and we’d play and sing and harmonize.”
Dan Fogelberg purchased the Deer Isle property in 1978 after his first visit to Maine. The couple met in 1996 and began designing a new home on the same site while living in Colorado. They started construction in 2002 and moved in 2004, the same year Dan was diagnosed with prostate cancer. They chose to undergo treatment in Boston to continue living in Maine and complete their dream home.
Jean Fogelberg fondly remembers her husband’s happiest times between summer and fall tours, exploring the outdoors in Maine. “He could really get away there,” she said. “No one could reach him on the boat, so he would write songs, and he could just head out, and he’d go up to Nova Scotia or head south. He’d just explore rugged places. He loved rugged beauty.”
Dan Fogelberg’s Deer Isle property inspired his song “The Reach,” which captures the rugged nature of Maine’s coast. The song includes lines like, “The lobstermen’s boats come returning/ with the catch of the day in their holds/ and the young boys cold and complaining/ The fog meets the beaches and out on/ the Reach it is raining.”
Jean Fogelberg is also auctioning art and other items from the house through Thomaston Place Auction Galleries. She wants fans to have the chance to own something that belonged to Dan. “The fans have been great. I try to keep them in the loop, and I knew they would want to know about the auction if there was any way they could have something of Dan’s,” she said. “It was important to me that they be the first to know when it was up.”
The auction, scheduled for June 28-30, will feature 144 items owned by Fogelberg, including a pair of Buccellati silver candlesticks and his collection of Navajo items. Some of these items are expected to sell for up to $5,000.
Fogelberg had a deep appreciation for Native American art, which he collected over time and often incorporated into his performances. His interest in Native American culture began in childhood when he first saw a buffalo dance in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
“It’s interesting when you can get an entire estate of somebody’s things, and you can see the diversity of their collecting, knowledge about collecting, their care and their interest in preservation of the history of mankind,” said Kaja Veilleux, auctioneer and owner of Thomaston Place.
Jean Fogelberg, a photographer, said she will miss many aspects of living in Maine. “Probably what I’ll miss the most is the wildlife. As a photographer, Maine is just a haven with such a variety of creatures to photograph,” she said. “The rocky beaches are wonderful for photography … the New England towns, and the architecture. That’s what I’ll miss, but I can always come back and shoot again.”
