The history of MacGregor Downs starts with the MacGregor family. John Gordon MacGregor came to North Carolina in 1907 and purchased nearly 2000 acres of land near Lake Jordan, which is now Cary.
He named his property “MacGregor Downs.” Over time, he expanded this pristine paradise through purchase and acquisition until it totaled 15000 acres by 1928.
The neighborhood was a resort community that attracted guests from all over the world during its peak years as an active horse farm; then became a bedroom suburb after World War II when building restrictions ended the area’s residential development for many decades; and finally matured into one of Raleigh-Durham’s most desirable neighborhoods.
