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 and 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, the population of Coventry was approximately 792. Several villages, originally built around mills, lie in the eastern section of town close to the West Warwick boundary. Anthony, was settled around a cotton mill built c. 1805. Washington, was actually founded as the rural village of Braytonville in the mid-18TH Century, but the arrival of the Washington Manufacturing Company, in 1812, turned it into a textile center. In the most north eastern corner of Coventry are the mill villages of Harris, Phenix, and just over the Cranston line, Fiskeville, with a few good examples of 19TH Century mill cottages and mill architecture. 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.
Government in Coventry, Rhode Island
Coventry Established in 1639, Incorporated in 1743 Coventry Form of Government: Five-member Town Council and Town Manager Coventry Council Meetings: The second and fourth Monday of each month at 8 pm. Financial Town Meeting held in the month of June as decided by Town Council. Coventry Fiscal Year Begins; July 1
Coventry General Demographic Characteristics
Coventry Population: The population count for The Town of Coventry as of April 1, 2005, was 33,668. This represented a 8.32% increase (2,585 persons) from the 1990 population of 31,083.
Coventry Rank: In 2005 Coventry ranks 7th in population among Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns.
Coventry Median Age: In 2005 the median age of the population in Coventry was 38.
Coventry Age Distribution: In 2005, 75.1% or 25,279 persons residing in Coventry were 18 years of age or older. 24,230 were 21 and over, 5,157 were 62 and over, and 4,384 were 65 and over.
Coventry Population Density: The 2005 population density of Coventry is 566 persons per square mile of land area. Coventry contains 59.54 square miles of land area (154,198,396 Sq. meters) (38,103.55 acres) and 2.80 square miles of water area (7,252,277 square meters) (1,791.99 acres).
Coventry Housing Units: The total number of housing units in the The Town of Coventry as of April 1, 2005, was 13,059. This represented an increase of 1,271 units from the 11,788 housing units in 1990. Of the 13,059 housing units 463 were vacant. 198 of the vacant units were for seasonal of recreational use.
Coventry Households: In 2005, there are 12,596 households in Coventry with an average size of 2.63 persons. Of these, 9,300 were family households with an average family size of 3.07 persons.
Coventry Race: > Coventry Total Population of One Race: 33,342 > Coventry White Population : 32,859 > Coventry Black of African American: 131 > Coventry American Indian and Alaska Native: 50 > Coventry Asian Population : 187 > Coventry Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander: 9 > Some Other Race in Coventry : 106 > Coventry Total Population of two or More Races: 326 > Coventry Hispanic or Latino: In 2005, 385 persons of Hispanic origin resided in Coventry. This represented 1.1% of the population. An increase of 125 or 48.1% from the 1980 Hispanic population of 260.
