Coventry is a small town located in the Windham Region of Eastern Connecticut.  It is a preferred destination for many history enthusiasts, as it is home to many historical sites, as well as being the birth place of Captain Nathan Hale, a continental soldier in the Revolutionary War, who is considered by many to be one of America's earliest heroes.  It has a population of 12,000 people, living on 38.4 square miles, giving it a low population density of 305 people per square mile. 

Formed in 1711, Coventry was settled by several families who moved from Northampton Massachusetts, its first home having been built by Nathaniel Rust on Lake Wangumbaug.  The center of the old town was formed in what is now known as South Coventry, and many of the original buildings still exist in this area, including several homes, a public library and Bidwell Tavern.  The oldest general store in America can also be found in Coventry, opened in 1787 by W. L. Wellwood.  In subsequent years, many of the original inhabitants of Coventry migrated to the Ohio Valley, in search of more fertile land.

Coventry is home to several notable locations, which are registered with the National Register of Historic Places.  The Strong-Porter museum, built in 1730, was originally a house built by the first inhabitants of Coventry, and later became  a museum under the Coventry Historical Society.  The Nathan Hale homestead was built in 1776, and it is on this property that the Revolutionary soldier Nathan Hale was born.  Coventry has been home to many prominent people since then, including "Great Awakening" minister Lorenzo Dow, Connecticut's Continental Congress representative Jesse Root, and Civil War photographer George N Barnard.