Coventry ( KOV-ən-tree) is a town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut. The population was 12,235 at the 2020 census. The birthplace of Captain Nathan Hale, Coventry is home to the Nathan Hale Homestead, which is now a museum open to the public.
Coventry was incorporated in May 1712.

History

Coventry was named in October 1711, the first town in the colonies to be named “Coventry” for Coventry in the West Midlands, United Kingdom.

Settlement and founding

The Middle Post Road, one of the three Boston Post Roads declared in 1671 with the creation of the Colonial post, ran through Coventry. The Post Roads were meant to connect the colony of New York, formerly New Amsterdam, with the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Middle Post Road connected Hartford and Boston, Massachusetts via Coventry and Pomfret, Connecticut, and Mendon and Roxbury, Massachusetts. Chapter 1 DOT History

The first house in Coventry was said to have been built near the shore of Wangumbaug Lake by Nathaniel Rust, a Hartford, Connecticut man, originally from Northampton, Massachusetts. The entire Rust family is said to have made their final move to Coventry from Massachusetts in a group of a dozen families in 1709. Along with Nathaniel Rust, the names of some of the earliest settlers were David Lee, Thomas Root, Samuel Gurley, Ebenezer Searl, Joseph Petty, Benjamin James and Benjamin Carpenter. Four other settlers were also from Northampton and two from Reading.

The land was said to have originally been given to men from Hartford by Joshua, Indian sachem. The Connecticut General Assembly, held in Hartford in 1706, appointed William Pitkin, Joseph Tallcot, William Whiting and Richard Lord, as a committee with full power to lay out the bounds of the town and divisions of the land, to admit inhabitants. A 1711 revision added Nathaniel Rust to the committee and the task of procuring a minister of the gospel. Coventry was formally formed as a town in Hartford County in 1712. The first church was established in October 1714.

Coventry became a town in Windham County on 12 May 1726, then became a town in Tolland County when it was originally formed on 13 October 1785.

St. Mary’s Church is a Roman Catholic church in Coventry. The church is part of the Diocese of Norwich, located at 1600 Main Street in town.

To the present

The old center of the town is in South Coventry, near the intersection of Main Street (Route 31) and Stonehouse Road (Route 275). In the 19th century, there was a small industrial center including mills powered by the water from Coventry Lake Brook as it flowed towards the Willimantic River. South Coventry Village, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, also includes several Victorian houses, a museum, the main branch of the public library and the Bidwell Tavern, a bar/restaurant established in 1822. The Bidwell used to keep Coventry’s town records in the “vault” area behind the bar, as well as hosting town meetings. A few doors away is the W.L. Wellwood General Store, which under new ownership has been renamed “Coventry Country Store”. The general store was originally built in 1787 making it the oldest General Store in America (a past owner claimed to have not found an older store). In all, the area has over 100 historical buildings on the national register.

North Coventry’s settlement is less dense, and its housing and businesses are of more recent construction. In the 18th century, this section of the town was largely used for dairy and vegetable farming. As the United States expanded westward, many farming families left the rocky fields of Connecticut for the more fertile land of the Ohio River valley. Most of the farms in North Coventry were abandoned, and the land reclaimed by second-growth forest. In the 1960s and 1970s, tract housing developments were built on some of this land, mainly raised ranch or split-level houses on one acre (4,000 m) lots. Development slowed from the mid-1970s through the 1990s, but several new developments were constructed in North Coventry after 1990. These tend to feature larger houses on two acre (8,000 m²) lots.

Education

Demographics

At the 2010 census, there were 12,435 people, 4,783 households and 3,426 families residing in the town. The population density was 330.0 inhabitants per square mile (127.4/km²). There were 4,783 occupied housing units. 316 vacant housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 94.00% White, 0.90% African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.00% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.60% of the population.

There were 4,783 households which 31.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.5% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.4% were non-families. 20.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.01.

23.3% of the population were under the age of 18, 12.1% from 15 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 33.2% from 45 to 64, and 10.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41.5 years. 50.6% of the population were male and 49.4% were female. 38.4% of the males were over the age of 18. 38.2% of the females were over the age of 18. For every 100 females, there were 102.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males.

The median household income was $86,244, and the median family income was $91,931. Males had a median income of $65,572 versus $53,690 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,524 About 2.4% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.9% of those under age 18 and 1.1% of those age 65 or over.