Rudyard Kipling, the author of British imperialism and the story teller of British India, lived in Vermont during the years 1892-1896. Naulakha, his estate in Dummerston, Vermont, is the only house ever built by Kipling and remains today much as it was when he left it. As a relatively small but intact late 19th century estate, the property would be significant for its architecture alone, even without the literary association. Kipling, however, as an architect's client, added his personal style to the design, based on his experiences in India. It is thus a dramatic cross-cultural expression, spanning two continents stylistically.

Rudyard Kipling was born in 1865, the son of English parents living in Bombay, India. His father, John Lockwood Kipling, was a professor at the British School of Art at Lahore. Rudyard was sent to England for schooling and it was there that he met Wolcott Balestier, an American publisher and writer. Jointly they wrote Naulahka, A Novel of East and West, the story of a priceless Indian jewel. Wolcott died (1891) shortly before the completion of the book and Kipling, "a captive of the Balestier charm," soon married Caroline Balestier, the sister of his friend and literary collaborator.