 The present upper green was laid out in 1642 as a militia training ground, and became the new center of the town (which then included both Newburyport and West Newbury).The first meetinghouse was built in 1646 on a site at the green's northwest corner, where subsequent churches stood until the present 1869 First Parish Church was built across High Road.The First Parish Cemetery was also laid out in 1646, and is where many of Newbury's early settlers are buried.