Town of Coventry
Updated Demographic and Economic Characteristics
* Annual information for 2000-2010 is available by downloading this Excel file
Government
Town Hall
1670 Flat River Road
Coventry, RI 02816
(401) 821-6400
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm
- Established: 1639
- Incorporated: 1743
- Form of government: Five-member town council and town manager.
- Council meetings: The second and fourth Monday of each month at 8 p.m. Financial town meeting held in the month of June as decided by town council.
- Fiscal year begins: July 1
A summary profile of Census 2000 characteristics is available from the RI Office of Statewide Planning at: http://www.planning.ri.gov/census/citytown.htm
Community Links
Hyperlinks provided by the Office of Municipal Affairs, Rhode Island Department of Administration.
- The Coventry Courier (Southern Rhode Island newspapers)
- Coventry homepage
- Coventry municipal departments and officials
- Find Coventry's state senator and representatives
- Area points of interest and attractions please visit the state tourism website
History
On August 24, 1741, the western end of the town of Warwick had been purchased by Samuel Gorton, and others from Miantonomi. It was set off and incorporated into a township to be known as Coventry — named for Coventry, England. The new town extended from what is now West Warwick to the Connecticut line, and contained 64.8 square miles. Therefore it became larger than its mother town, but was more sparsely populated. Early figures show that in 1748, Coventry's population was approximately 792. Several villages, originally built around mills, lie in the eastern section of town close to the West Warwick boundary. Today, while the western portion of Coventry is still rural in nature, the eastern section is one of the most rapidly growing residential communities in Rhode Island. However, the community still retains some old textile mill villages. The housing pattern consists of multi-family units in the older sections of the town, and owner occupied single family units in the newly developed areas. Commercial strip and shopping centers are the main commerce outlets.
Tim Cole