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AHistory
History · Coventry

Coventry dates to 1712, and 14% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns · #37 of 155 in Connecticut. What drives it

10 places in town are on the National Register, among them two historic districts with 188 buildings between them. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1790.

1712founded
10on the National Register
14%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Coventry’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Coventry began

When was Coventry founded?

1712

Coventry dates its founding to 1712 (Wikidata). It appears in the first U.S. census, 1790.

First census: 2,130 in 1790314 years

How historic is Coventry?

A

More historic than 91% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1802.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Coventry’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Coventry is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #37 of 155 in Connecticut. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its age ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.

A
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Coventry’s overall grade.
Founding era1712, from Wikidata: founded before 1776, an older era than 96% of U.S. townsA+Homes built before 194014.2% of homes (±5.1) · typical CT town 15.1% · U.S. 8.4%BNational Register10 listings, 205 historic buildings, 166 per 10,000 residents · typical CT town 73.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 91%
NewerOlder
Connecticut towns of 2,500+ (155)Ahead of 77%

Connecticut towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Connecticut town has 73.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Coventry’s 166 sits above most of its state (70% of Connecticut towns have fewer) while its 205 historic buildings outnumber those of 93% of U.S. towns.

NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1712.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from A− to A+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.1 points).

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Coventry’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A historic districtThe South Coventry Historic District takes in 178 historic buildings.A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1870 and 1930, then grew 7-fold.On the map since 18926 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1983. Watch Coventry change.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

10 listings protect 205 historic buildings

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
205
each building in a district counts
first listed
1970
Nathan Hale Homestead
Nathan Hale HomesteadBrigham's Tavern, built 1717Capron-Phillips HouseParker-Hutchinson FarmCoventry Glass Factory Historic DistrictElias Sprague HouseStrong HouseSouth Coventry Historic DistrictLoomis-Pomeroy HouseCaptain Nathan Hale Monument
BuildingsDistrictsObjects

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival4
Italianate2
Federal2
Mid-19th Century2
Vernacular1
Colonial1
Nathan Hale HomesteadBuilding
Brigham's TavernBuilt 1717
Capron-Phillips HouseItalianate
Parker-Hutchinson FarmBuilding
Coventry Glass Factory Historic DistrictGreek Revival
Elias Sprague HouseVernacular
Strong HouseBuilding
South Coventry Historic DistrictColonial
All 10 listings
Loomis-Pomeroy HouseBuilding · listed 1994Captain Nathan Hale MonumentObject · listed 2002

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Help out

Start Coventry’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Coventry’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewNathan Hale Homestead - Open Garage Door: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Coventry, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,000180018501900195020002,657 in 1870Low: 1,554

Lost a third of its people between 1870 and 1930, then grew 7-fold.

22 censuses, 1790–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Coventry’s Wikipedia page.

The story

How Coventry came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Coventry.

Read it all →

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

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

ChaptersSettlement and foundingTo the present

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Coventry, 1712 to 2010

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1712
    FoundingCoventry is established
  3. 1717BuiltBrigham's Tavern is built
  4. 1746Born herePaul Brigham is born here
  5. 1765Born hereSamuel Huntington is born here
  6. 19th century
  7. 1802Post officeThe Coventry post office opens
  8. 1802Post officeThe North Coventry post office opens
  9. 1810Born hereEbenezer Kingsbury Hunt is born here
  10. 1819Born hereGeorge N. Barnard is born here
  11. 1820Post officeThe South Coventry post office opens
  12. 1892On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  13. 20th century
  14. 1909Post officeThe Coventry post office closes
  15. 1942In the archiveNathan Hale Homestead - Open Garage Door
  16. 1953Post officeThe South Coventry post office closes
  17. 21st century
  18. 2010CensusPopulation peaks at 12,435
By decade

Coventry, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s1 item
Nathan Hale Homestead - Open Garage Door1942Nathan Hale Homestead - Open Garage Door
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today28 recent
20240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 0004202420240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 000420240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 0003202420240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 000320240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 0002202420240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 000220240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 0001202420240402 USDA RD HYTONE DAIRY FARM MA CT RI CTS 0001Coventry Country Market2023Coventry Country MarketCoventry Brick School House2020Coventry Brick School HouseTelegraph poles along future Hop River Trail, December 20182018Telegraph poles along future Hop River Trail, Decembe…Hop River waterfall at South Street in2018Hop River waterfall at South Street inHop River Trail west of Kings Road, December 20182018Hop River Trail west of Kings Road, December 2018Former NYNE bridge near Kings Road, December 20182018Former NYNE bridge near Kings Road, December 2018Deck of NYNE bridge near Kings Road, December 20182018Deck of NYNE bridge near Kings Road, December 2018CoventryCT EliasSpragueHouse22018CoventryCT EliasSpragueHouse2CoventryCT CapronPhillipsHouse2018CoventryCT CapronPhillipsHouseCoventry Village2018Coventry VillageCVS2018CVSBlocked-off Hop River Trail at King Street, December 20182018Blocked-off Hop River Trail at King Street, December …Coventryctcenter2016CoventryctcenterElias Sprague House, under renovation2014Elias Sprague House, under renovationCoventryCT ParkerHutchinsonFarm2014CoventryCT ParkerHutchinsonFarmHouse at the corner of US Route 44 and North River Road2013House at the corner of US Route 44 and North River Ro…CoventryCT LoomisPomeroyHouse2013CoventryCT LoomisPomeroyHouseCoventryCT GrangeHall2013CoventryCT GrangeHallBrighams Tavern2013Brighams TavernCoventry CT lg2010Coventry CT lgCoventry ct highlight2007Coventry ct highlightConnecticut Town History Sign2007Connecticut Town History SignConnecticut Town History Sign2007Connecticut Town History SignCapron-Phillips House2006Capron-Phillips House
On the map

Coventry on the map, 1892 to 1983

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Coventry. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Coventry on the 1892 USGS mapCoventry on the 1921 USGS mapCoventry on the 1944 USGS mapCoventry on the 1953 USGS mapCoventry on the 1970 USGS mapCoventry on the 1983 USGS map1892Tolland sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Coventry.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Nathan Hale Homestead - Open Garage Door
Retake this viewNathan Hale Homestead - Open Garage Door, 1942

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Coventry’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

7 famous people were born in Coventry

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
George N. BarnardAmerican photographer · b. 1819
Samuel HuntingtonAmerican politician; Governor of Ohio · b. 1765
Paul BrighamAmerican politician · b. 1746
Ebenezer Kingsbury HuntAmerican physician · b. 1810
Joel JonesAmerican mayor · b. 1795
Rufus ClarkAmerican pioneer and businessman · b. 1822
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Coventry had its own post office from 1802 to 1909. Another post office, South Coventry, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Coventry
1802–1909
North Coventry
1802–today
South Coventry
1820–1953
Coventry
1953–today
18001910today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Coventry LakeNorth CoventrySouth Coventry
Gone or out of use
Metenosky Aviation Fieldairport
4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Coventry
CenterNathan HaleSilver StreetSouth Street

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Mansfield10 historic placesAColumbia2 historic placesB+Willimantic7 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townWindham10 historic placesA+Andover3 historic placesATolland3 historic placesB+Vernon6 historic placesA

Questions about Coventry’s history

What year was Coventry founded?

In 1712, according to Wikidata. Coventry’s post office opened in 1802, and the first U.S. census counted 2,130 people here in 1790.

How does Coventry rank for history?

Coventry is more historic than 91% of U.S. towns, #37 of 155 in Connecticut. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Coventry?

10 listings: 7 buildings, among them the Nathan Hale Homestead (listed 1970, the first), 2 historic districts, the Coventry Glass Factory Historic District and the South Coventry Historic District, with 188 contributing buildings, and 1 object. 205 historic buildings in all.

How old are the homes in Coventry?

14% of Coventry’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.1 points), against a typical 15% for a Connecticut town; the median home was built in 1966.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (29), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (10), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.