The Calvin B. Taylor House was built by 1832 for Isaac Covington and his family who lived here during the Civil War. The Covingtons also owned plantations in Snow Hill and traded in the West Indies. Isaac's estate inventory suggests he was a store owner.
Another early occupant was Robert J. Henry, a local businessman who owned a farm near today's Stephen Decatur Park and used this home as a town house. He was instrumental in bringing the railroad to Berlin.
The most famous occupant of this house was Calvin B. Taylor. Mr. Taylor was a teacher, lawyer and founder of the Calvin B. Taylor Banking Company. He and his wife Mattie lived here from the 1890s until his death in 1932. During their occupancy they made several changes to the house including a back wing addition and the installation of stained glass windows.
After the Taylors the house had several different owners. It was an apartment house in the 1970s. In the early 1980s it was unoccupied and was to be demolished to make a parking lot.
The Berlin Heritage Foundation was founded in November 1981 by a group of citizens interested in saving this house. They convinced the Mayor and Town Council to purchase the house and lot in 1982 for $35,000.00 and to turn it over to the Foundation to administer as a town museum. Over $100,000.00 was raised from the community and private donations for restoration. This historic house museum opened for a preview tour on October 2, 1983.
