The rolling hills, lush-velvet green and shrouded in mist, provided inspiration for a young author who came to America to marry his best friend’s sister and build his dream home in Dummerston, Vt. By the time the rambling three-story home featuring custom woodwork and indoor plumbing was completed in 1892, 27-year-old Rudyard Kipling was already so famous that he had to board up his first-floor windows to keep the curious from peeking inside.

It was in his cozy, bookshelf-lined study that Kipling, who was born in British India, wrote his classic children’s tale, “The Jungle Book.” He wrote in many genres – poetry, novels, children’s books and short stories, and was often referred to as the “soldiers’ poet” for the verses he wrote during wartime.