History:
Newburyport has a long and rich history. Located on the southern bank of the Merrimack River at the mouth of the Atlantic Ocean. Originally the area was inhabited by the Pawtucket Indians.

Newburyport was first settled in 1635 as part of "Newberry Plantation," now Newbury. On January 28, 1764, the General Court of Massachusetts passed "An act for erecting part of the town of Newbury into a new town by the name of Newburyport." The act begins:

Whereas the town of Newbury is very large, and the inhabitants of that part of it who dwell by the water-side there, as it is commonly called, are mostly merchants, traders and artificers, and the inhabitants of the other parts of the town are chiefly husbandmen; by means whereof many difficulties and disputes have arisen in managing their public affairs - Be it enacted ... That that part of the said town of Newbury ... be and hereby are constituted and made a separate and distinct town ....