Nathanael Greene Homestead

1770 home of Washington's second-in-command — one of the best-preserved Revolutionary-era houses in New England

The Nathanael Greene Homestead, known as Spell Hall, stands at 50 Taft Street in a rural part of eastern Coventry. Built in 1770 for Nathanael Greene — later George Washington's second-in-command and the general most responsible for winning the Southern Campaign — it is a handsome two-and-a-half-storey colonial house in excellent preservation, surrounded by mature trees and farmland that has not changed dramatically since the 18th century.

The house is open for guided tours on weekends from May through October, run by volunteer guides who know their material well. The rooms are furnished with period pieces, some original to the Greene family. Greene lived here for only six years before the war began; he never returned. The story of what happened to him afterward — and the extraordinary competence he displayed despite no military training — is told in the tour and is genuinely gripping for anyone interested in the period.

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A story
Nathanael Greene was 33 years old and had never served a day in the military when the Revolution began. He became Washington's most trusted general, led the Southern Campaign that effectively ended British control of the Carolinas, and is credited by many historians with making American independence possible. He never returned to this house after 1776 — he was too busy fighting.