Camden is an Italian Villa-style house on the
Rappahannock River just downriver of
Port Royal, Virginia. Built 1857–1859, it is one of the nation's finest examples of an Italianate country house. It is located on the southeast bank of the Rappahannock River, about north of the intersection of Camden Road (
Virginia State Route 686) and
United States Route 17
U.S. Route 17 or U.S. Highway 17 (US 17), also known as the Coastal Highway, is a north–south United States Highway that spans in the southeastern United States. It runs close to the Atlantic Coast for much of its length, with ...
.
Camden was declared a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1971 for its architecture.
Description and history
Camden is a two-story frame house in a pure
Italianate style, clad with flush siding that was originally treated to resemble stone. The tower base projects from the front, with a semicircular porch surrounding its base, looking out over the
Rappahannock River. The first floor includes a central hall, library, dining room, parlor and a main-level bedroom. The parlor retains its original Victorian rococo furnishings.
Camden was built on the basement of an earlier house belonging to the Pratt family that dated to 1760. William Carter Pratt demolished this house around 1856 to use the prominent site for a new house. He engaged Baltimore architect Norris G. Starkweather, with construction stating in 1857, completed in 1859. Up-to-date in style and technology, the house was equipped with central heating and cooling, gas lights and running water. A private gas works was installed to generate
gas
Gas is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being solid, liquid, and plasma).
A pure gas may be made up of individual atoms (e.g. a noble gas like neon), elemental molecules made from one type of atom (e.g. oxygen), or ...
for the lights. The house's tower was destroyed during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, by a hit from a Union gunboat in late November 1862, and never restored.
The property is also significant as the home of a
Native American family of the late 17th century, where iron trade tools and silver medals have been found. The silver medals were minted by the British and given to the Powhatan chiefs as tokens of peace.
The Silver medals were discovered on the property during the excavation of an older structure, eventually discovered to be the house of John "The Ranger" Taliaferro.
See also
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
This is a list of National Historic Landmarks in Virginia. There are currently 123 National Historic Landmark, National Historic Landmarks (NHLs), and 2 former NHLs.
Current landmarks
The National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) are widely distributed ...
*
References
External links
Camden: 1 photo, at Virginia DHR*
{{National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
National Historic Landmarks in Virginia
Houses in Caroline County, Virginia
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
Houses completed in 1859
Italianate architecture in Virginia
National Register of Historic Places in Caroline County, Virginia
Historic American Buildings Survey in Virginia
1859 establishments in Virginia