Coventry is a town in Orleans County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,100 at the 2020 census.

History

Etymology

Coventry was named for the birthplace of one of the founders, Major Elias Buel, who was born in Coventry, Connecticut.

Post bellum

A record exists from 1860, showing that the "Artillery Company" of the 3rd Regiment mustered for annual drill on June 5. An inventory shows they possessed one six pound brass cannon.

In 1861, the 3rd Vermont Infantry, Company B, was recruited in part from Coventry.

In the September 9, 1977, episode of Hee Haw, Coventry was saluted for its population of 300.

Coventry festival

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In 2004, what was billed as the final concert of the band Phish was held in Coventry on August 14–15. The concert was the single largest gathering of people in the town's history. Some fans had to be turned back due to heavy rains. Even so, with 65,000 attendees Coventry's augmented population was the largest in the state at that time, outranking Burlington, Vermont, which had around 39,000 people in the 2000 census.

The Phish concert was a two-day event (August 14–15, 2004), held at the Newport State Airport. People began arriving early Friday morning and shortly after the roads became congested. On Friday morning, it had rained. The soft land in the parking area had turned to mud. Cars were then turned away. Instead of driving home, they parked their cars on the median of Interstate 91, choosing to walk the rest of the way to the concert.

Dozens of pairs of shoes, sandals, and boots were lost due to the thick mud. On Sunday, at the end of the concert, tractors were brought over to help pull cars out of the mud.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 27.7&nbsp;square miles (71.7&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>), of which 27.5&nbsp;square miles (71.1&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) is land and 0.2&nbsp;square mile (0.6&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup>) (0.80%) is water. It contains the smallest area of any town in the county. However, the city of Newport is smaller in area. The village of Coventry is in the southern part of the town.

The Black River flows an east-northeasterly course through the central part of the town until it joins the South Bay of Lake Memphremagog in Newport. For approximately the last , the river is part of the state's South Bay Wildlife Management Area.

South Bay Wildlife Management Area is located mostly in Coventry but also in the adjacent town of Newport at the southern part of Lake Memphremagog. This is a large wetland and floodplain forest, red maple and white cedar swamp, along the Black River.

The Barton River flows through Coventry, east of the Black River, and then into Lake Memphremagog.

Demographics

As of the census

Town Officials

  • Moderator – Matt Maxwell
  • Selectboard Chair – Mike Marcotte
  • Selectman – David Gallup
  • Town Clerk – Deb Tanguay
  • Planning Commission Members
  • Maurice Jacobs, Chairman
  • Joshua Griffes, Vice Chairman
  • Phil Marquette
  • Robert "Skip" Gosselin
  • Michael Lucas
  • Assessing Clerk – Kate Fletcher
  • Road Commissioner – David Gallup
  • Town Administrator – Amanda Carlson
  • Matthew Maxwell, Chairman
  • Daniel Prue
  • Amanda Jensen
  • Jamie Stenger
  • Kathleen Ahearn
  • Principal
  • Todd Rohlen, 2018–present
  • Matthew Baughman, 2012–2018
  • Budget – $3,201,648.39

Economy

Personal income

The median income for a household in the town was $33,487, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $26,528 versus $18,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,788. About 11.9% of families and 17.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.8% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Industry

The Washington Electric Coöperative has four electric generators at Vermont's largest landfill in Coventry. The methane generation facility provides a third to one half of WEC's members’ electricity needs. This facility supplies power to 6,000 households and businesses. In 2008, the co-op applied to expand the plant to eight megawatts. This increase is expected to cost $3 million.

The New England Waste Services of Vermont (Waste USA), a subsidiary of Casella Waste Systems, owns the landfill which serves much of Vermont. In 2013, it was allowed to accept up to of waste annually.

Infrastructure

Airport

The town is served by the Northeast Kingdom International Airport (ICAO: KEFK), formerly called Newport State Airport. It contains one runway, 18–36, measuring , and one runway, 5–23, measuring . The FBO is Lakeview Aviation which is owned and operated by Daniel Gauvin.

Water

Coventry Fire District Number One operates the water system which supplies the (unincorporated) Village of Coventry. A Prudential Committee runs the fire district. Under Vermont law, this is a municipality; the committee is the equivalent of a town select board.

Cultural activities

The Vermont Roots Reggae Fest has been held here the last Saturday in August for several years. It was attended by 2000 people in 2006. Past problems with unruly crowds and drugs have been addressed by the organizers.

Notable people

  • Harry A. Black, Secretary of State of Vermont
  • Orrin Wiley Locke, Member of the Vermont Senate
  • Michael J. Marcotte, Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
  • Lambert Packard, Architect
  • Timothy P. Redfield, Associate Justice of the Vermont Supreme Court

References

  • Official website
  • Coventy Village School website
  • Phish's Coventry show website