Orleans County Postal Routes 1839 - Burr (1)
| The first post office was established in 1822, but it was not located in the new village. The office began to do business on May 22 in the house of Isaac Parker who resided at "the center", today's "four corners" where Coventry Station Rd. meets Airport Rd. Parker was the postmaster for the first 6 years until the office was moved to the village in 1828. |
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The office began to do business May 22, 1822. Until that time, residents of Coventry had
their mail accommodations at Brownington office. The route by which the new office was
supplied had its termini at Burlington and Derby, between which points the mail was carried
once a week each way, for a few months by Elijah Burroughs and then for some years by Daniel
Davidson of Craftsbury. This was quite sufficient to meet the necessities of the people at
that time, as may be judged from the fact that the whole receipts of the office for the
first year were only $10,57, and that the whole receipts in the 6 years, 1 month and 2 days,
during which Mr. Parker was postmaster, were $133,30. Pliny White, History of Coventry, Vt. |
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Orleans County Postal Routes 1839 - Burr (1) |
| At the village the post office was opened within Elijah Cleveland's store in the summer of 1828 and Loring Frost was appointed postmaster. By 1839 postal traffic on the Coventry route had expanded dramatically. It was by now classified as a 4-Horse Mail Post Coach road for it's entire length from Burlington to Derby. |
| Coventry Postmasters |
| Isaac Parker |
May 22,1822 |
Issac Parker residence at "the center" |
| Loren Frost |
June 12,1828 | Elijah Cleveland & Co. store in the village |
| Elijah Cleveland |
1837 |
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| Holland Thrasher |
1841 | |
| Calvin Harmon |
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HOLLAND THRASHER
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Mar 22,1845 | |
| Greenleaf Boynton |
Apr 6,1861 |
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| Isaac Parker Jr. |
Oct 21,1861 | East Coventry |
| For almost 35 years the village post office served the residents of Coventry well. But a second office was established back at the center to serve the people on the east side of town. It operated out of Isaac Parker Jr's house and he was appointed it's postmaster in October of 1861. By the 1870's mail was being transported between East Coventry and the village by stage with a long succession of drivers including Leon Vinton, Milo Hancock, William Thurber and Melvin Willey. |
 The East Coventry Post Office behind Isaac Parker's House (2) |
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References: 1. - Map of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. Exhibiting the Post Offices, Post Roads, Canals, Rail Roads, &c. by Burr, David H., published by John Arrowsmith London 1839; David Rumsey Map Collection, http://www.davidrumsey.com 2. - Bits And Pieces Of Coventry's History, Coventry Bicentenial Committee, Coventry, VT, 1977 - A History of Coventry, Vt., Pliny White |