Editing Coventry, Connecticut (section)

===To the present===
The old center of the town is in [[South Coventry (CDP), Connecticut|South Coventry]], near the intersection of Main Street ([[Route 31 (Connecticut)|Route 31]]) and Stonehouse Road ([[Route 275 (Connecticut)|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 architecture|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.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.courant.com/1994/10/21/bidwell-tavern-draws-from-its-past/ |title=Bidwell Tavern Draws from Its Past - Hartford Courant |date=October 21, 1994 |access-date=September 30, 2011 |archive-date=August 18, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130818111738/http://articles.courant.com/1994-10-21/news/9410210701_1_town-hall-office-building-life-size-statue |url-status=live }}</ref> 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<sup>2</sup>) 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 m<sup>2</sup>) lots. 
Coventry was incorporated in May 1712.