For years, Fredericksburg residents and tourists alike have walked by the 268-year-old Charles Dick House at 1107 Princess Anne St. and wondered what would become of it. Even if you didn’t know that it may be the city’s oldest residential structure, certainly it deserved someone to come to its rescue.

The answer came last May, when Brian and Lori McDermott purchased the place with the intention of transforming it into a comfortable and commodious home for their family.

Because it is located in Fredericksburg’s Historic District, they knew that any work would need to comply with Architectural Review Board rules. And they knew that the project would be expensive. But they also knew that the right group of contractors could turn their vision into reality.

“It was going to need a lot of work, but we love downtown and its history, and we’re ready to be the stewards,” said Brian McDermott, a local orthopedic surgeon. “We wanted to restore it to what it should be, and so it stands another 200 years.”