The town is located on SR 631 (Coverly Road) off SR 604 (Chula Road) at Coverly, a farm and historic home built in the 1830s, atop a hill with the Appomattox River to the east, Flat Creek to the south, and the Norfolk Southern Railway to the northwest.

During the Civil War, railroads formed a critical supply network for the Confederacy, and thus their destruction was a key component of Union strategy.

Among the raids targeting the Richmond and Danville Railroad were those conducted in 1864 by cavalry under Union general August Kautz.

Confederate defenders clashed with Kautz's forces at Flat Creek Bridge, less than a mile west of the area later called Coverly, on May 14.

[2] Coverly Farm, established around 1835, continues to operate, offering a seasonal pumpkin patch to the public.