Camden is one of the finest examples of the Italian Villa style in the state. William Carter Pratt commissioned the house, which was to be constructed on the site of an earlier one that had been demolished. Starkwether, who had offices in Washington and Baltimore, produced a lavish design that had a large entrance tower (destroyed during the Civil War by Union gunboats). The house was advanced for the peninsula area in the period; its features included running water in every bedroom, central heating, gas lighting, and a conservatory. The house was constructed of wood with an exterior covering was flushboarded cypress, sanded and painted pale pink. The grounds were laid out in the Gardenesque manner, of which traces can still be seen.