Coventry
©
Coventry

Coventry

Large Rhode Island town southwest of Providence, where rural western districts surround Revolutionary War history.

Coventry is one of Rhode Island's larger towns by area but feels surprisingly rural, especially in its western half where farms and forest still dominate. About twenty minutes southwest of Providence, it straddles the line between suburb and countryside.

The town's main historical draw is the Nathanael Greene Homestead, the 1770 home of the Revolutionary War general who served as George Washington's second-in-command and is credited by many historians with winning the Southern Campaign that ended British control of the Carolinas. The house is open for guided tours on weekends from May through October, and the surrounding landscape has not changed dramatically since Greene's day. A few miles north, the Waterman Tavern is a 1744 colonial way station that anchors a small cluster of 18th-century buildings in Whaley's Hollow. The eastern villages of Anthony and Quidnick preserve clusters of old mill buildings from the 19th-century industrial era, worth a slow drive if you are interested in New England's manufacturing past.

For outdoor time, the Trestle Trail runs roughly 18 miles along a converted rail corridor through the forests of western Coventry and into Connecticut — good for cycling and walking. The George B. Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge protects a large tract of quiet second-growth forest with stone walls and old cellar holes. In the east of town, Flat River Reservoir — locally known as Johnson's Pond — is the largest lake in Coventry and a busy summer spot for fishing, kayaking, and swimming. Coventry is not a destination in itself, but for visitors wanting the quieter, greener side of Rhode Island, it delivers.

Guide

Things to Do

Coventry is a small New England town — most visitors come for a specific reason rather than to explore broadly. The Nathanael Greene Homestead is the principal historical attraction, a well-preserved 18th-century house with knowledgeable guides and a genuine connection to the Revolutionary War. Nearby in Whaley's Hollow, the Waterman Tavern is a 1744 colonial roadhouse that was a militia muster point during the war.

For outdoor time, the Trestle Trail follows a converted rail line through the forests of western Coventry into Connecticut — good for cycling and walking. The George B. Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge is a large Audubon property with quiet trails through stone-walled forest. In the east of town, Flat River Reservoir — known locally as Johnson's Pond — is the largest lake in town and a popular spot for fishing, kayaking, and summer swimming.