# Coventry, Vermont

Coventry /ˈkɒvəntri/ 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

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 square miles (71.7 km$^2$), of which 27.5 square miles (71.1 km$^2$) is land and 0.2 square mile (0.6 km$^2$) (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 4.7 miles (7.6 km), 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 of 2000, there were 1,014 people, 379 households, and 286 families residing in the town. The population density was 36.9 people per square mile (14.3/km$^2$). There were 435 housing units at an average density of 15.8 per square mile (6.1/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the town was 97.63% White, 0.30% African American, 0.99% Native American, 0.10% Asian, and 0.99% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.89% of the population.
There were 379 households, out of which 35.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 11.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.3% were non-families. 17.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 2.96.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.3 males.

## Government

A waste system company paid the town about $800,000 in "tipping fees" in 2009. This allows the town municipal property tax rate to be zero. However, the town still pays school taxes.

### Town Officials

* Moderator – Matt Maxwell
* Selectboard Chair – Mike Marcotte
* Selectman – David Gallup
* Selectman – Scott Briere
* Selectboard Clerk – Amanda Carlson
* Town Clerk – Deb Tanguay
* Treasurer – David Barlow
* Delinquent Tax Collector – Kate Fletcher
* 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

### School District

* School Board
** 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 Cooperative 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 coop applied to expand the plant to 8 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 Orleans County. In 2013, it was allowed to accept up to 370,000 short tons (340,000 t) 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 5,300 feet (1,600 m), and one runway, 5–23, measuring 4,000 feet (1,200 m). 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

## Footnotes

* 1 2 "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
* ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
* ↑ "Census - Geography Profile: Coventry town, Orleans County, Vermont". Retrieved December 29, 2021.
* ↑ Ishinan. "XX indexVermont". www.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
* ↑ Huegenin, Joan (June 2010). "Records". North East Kingdom Civil War Round Table: 9.
* ↑ Gary E. Lindsley (August 16, 2004). "Throngs Of Phish Heads Walk Into Festival Site". The Caledonian-Record News. St. Johnsbury, VT: Caledonian-Record Publishing Company, Inc. Retrieved February 16, 2010. VSP Sgt. Bruce Melendy said Sunday afternoon that between 65,000 and 68,000 fans made it into the Phish festival.
* 1 2 "Mud Stops Fans Headed To Phish Farewell". Billboard.com. August 14, 2004. Archived from the original on November 21, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
* ↑ Palmer-Benson, Timothy (August 22, 2004). "Phish fans were stuck on Interstate 91 on Friday afternoon. Traffic was at a standstill 15 miles south of the concert site". ScenesOfVermont.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2006. Retrieved September 2, 2016.
* ↑ "Virtual Vermont -". Virtual Vermont.
* ↑ "Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC)". Archived from the original (PDF) on August 29, 2007. Retrieved August 7, 2023.
* ↑ Vermont Fish & Wildlife Archived June 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
* ↑ Braithwaite, Chris (February 17, 2010). "Coventry still complains about property taxes". Barton, Vermont: the Chronicle. p. 24.
* ↑ Diaz resoundingly re-elected as town clerk,The Chronicle,March 7, 2007, page 1
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Town of Coventry Vermont in Coventry, Vt : Contact". Town of Coventry. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
* ↑ "Meetings, Minutes & Agendas". Town of Coventry. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
* ↑ "Delinquent Tax Collection". Town of Coventry. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
* ↑ "Planning Commission". Town of Coventry. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
* ↑ "Town of Coventry Select Boarding Meeting Minutes March 18th, 2019".
* ↑ "2018 Town of Coventry Annual Town & School Report".
* ↑ "Coventry Village School - Principal's Welcome". sites.google.com. Retrieved April 13, 2019.
* ↑ "About Washington Electric Coop". Archived from the original on June 23, 2008. Retrieved July 2, 2008. retrieved July 18, 2008
* ↑ Co-op to expand methane plant. Burlington Free Press. July 17, 2008 – via Associated Press.
* ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 4, 2015. Retrieved February 25, 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
* ↑ "Landfill clears hurdle on its way to expansion". the Chronicle. Barton, Vermont. August 30, 2017. p. 9.
* ↑ "AirNav: KEFK - Northeast Kingdom International Airport". www.airnav.com. Retrieved July 18, 2018.
* ↑ "Lakeview Aviation – Services, Instruction, and more". Lakeview Aviation.
* ↑ Gresser, Joseph (July 18, 2018). "Coventry Fire District meeting quickly goes off the rails". The Chronicle. Barton, Vermont. pp. 1A.
* ↑ Vermont Roots Reggae Fest. Seven Days. page 29A
* ↑ Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society. Montpelier, VT: Vermont Historical Society. 1923. p. 270 – via Google Books.