618 Morgan Creek Rd. / Taylor House

The Isaac M. and Gertrude W. Taylor House was built in 1952. The house is where musician James Taylor grew up along with his siblings. George Matsumoto was the architect who began the project, but some of his ideas were disliked by Gertrude "Trudy" Taylor, so she fired him. (According to US Modernist: "After that point Matsumoto temporarily swore off home design, 'not wanting to work with the wives.'") Trudy hired architect John D. Latimer to finish the house, but the basic design is still considered to be Matsumoto's work.

The lower floor contains the children's bedrooms. The upper floor has a master bedroom and living room. The kitchen, on the mezzanine level, was renovated in the late 1960s. The Taylors divorced and moved out of the house sometime between 1970 and 1972 (James Taylor was already living in NYC by this time). The house was rented out for several years then sold by the Taylors in July 1974 to Jim and Pat Johnston.

It was deeded in 2014 to a Johnston heirs trust. James Keith Brown and Eric G. Diefenbach bought the home at auction in July 2016 for $1.66 million. They then spent about $2 million on a restoration/renovation, finishing in the spring of 2021. The restoration/renovation was designed by Raleigh-based architecture firm In Situ Studio, and built by BuildSense.