Coventry Close Up

THE NATHAN HALE HOMESTEAD was the Coventry home of Captain Nathan Hale who was caught and hanged as a spy at age 21. (HARTFORD COURANT FILE PHOTO / September 22, 2010)

HOW IT GOT ITS NAME: From Coventry, in Warwickshire, England. The original Indian name was Wangumbaug, meaning bent or crooked pond. It was the first town in the colonies to be named Coventry.

HISTORY: Settled in 1709 after land was bequeathed by Attanwanhood , son of Uncas and sachem of the Western Nehantics, to "gentlemen in Hartford." Granted town privileges and named in October 1711.

MILL TOWN: From the early 19th century to the mid-20th century, Coventry was home to several mills that churned out an array of products such as cotton and wool textiles, paper products like boxes and writing paper, windmills, ammunition and bricks. The Boynton mill would become the leading manufacturer of bullets for the Union Army during the Civil War.


PATRIOT SON: Coventry-born and Yale-educated Nathan Hale became a Revolutionary War hero when he volunteered to cross enemy lines and spy on the British. He was caught and hanged in New York City on September 22, 1776, without a trial. He was 21. His famous last words were "I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country." He was named Connecticut's official State Hero in 1985.

SOURCES: The Hartford Courant;;;; Connecticut State Register and Manual.