A society dedicated to the preservation of the Community's heritage through the spoken word and the printed word and the use of illustrations and recorded sound.

The Town of Coventry has given the society a 25 year lease on the Summit Free Library. We are in the process of planning the "Summit Free Library/Museum. We have display cases in the library/museum that will be used to display items that have been donated to the society. We will have a display case of the month that we will let residents use to display that family heirloom. This will be done on a "first come-first served" basis. The elementary school children in Coventry or neighboring communities could arrange a Field Trip to both the Read Schoolhouse the the Library/Museum with the option of having lunch in the "Summit Hall." There is a lot of work to be done and we plan to have the building ready as soon as possible. Anyone having items to donate may call Lorraine at 397-7616 or Lillian at 821-0546.

In 1971 St. Vincent de Paul Church asked Lillian Thursten to plan their annual fashion show. Along with Mathias Hopkins, they collaborated "Historic Fashion Musicle." That was how the society became to be back in 1971. In 1972 the society received its charter and the lease was signed in the Read Schoolhouse in 1973. The Read Schoolhouse is the official headquarters for the society. It was restored with the help of the members and is now on the National Register of Historical Buildings. Numerous students visit the school from the Coventry school systems throughout the year. To make arrangements to view the school, call Lillian at 821-0545 for an appointment.

In December of 2000, the Coventry Historical Society purchased the Summit Baptist Church at 12 Old Summit Road in Greene, RI, with a grant that was received for that purchase from the Chaplin Foundation. The society has had many fundraisers to do repairs on the building. The first repair was the installation of a new ceiling in "Summit Hall" that was done by Patrick Morgan (and a group of other boy scouts) in order to get his eagle badge. The bushes were trimmed and groomed on the outside of the building by Nathan Powers with his group of boy scouts in order for him to receive his eagle badge. We are very grateful to both Patrick and Nathan for the wonderful results of the work that resulted from their efforts to help restore out historical building.