Nantucket is an old house lovers dream. A large part of the reason for this is that much of the island was designated as a local historic district in 1955, making it one of the earliest historic districts in the United States! This means that since 1955, the Nantucket Historic District Commission has been overseeing the island’s preservation, demolitions and alterations to historic buildings. This is the Andrew Myrick House located on Orange Street. The Georgian dwelling was built in 1755 by Andrew Myrick (1704-1777), a shipbuilder and storekeeper who was born in Charlestown, Massachusetts and eventually settled on island, constructing this home for his family. He and his wife Jedidiah had over 16 children, some of which died in childhood. Myrick would eventually hang himself at the age of 71. The home remained in the family until 1827. Fun fact: Andrew’s grandson, Peter Myrick was said to have set sail from Nantucket in 1833 in search of sea serpents. He came back empty handed.