The First Church in Salisbury was formally gathered in 1638. In 1640 the town of Salisbury was officially incorporated and construction on the first meeting house was completed. By 1714, a second population center had formed in the western half of the town. As a result the town voted to maintain two churches, each with a settled minister, but also to remain a single parish. The Second Church in Salisbury was gathered in 1718 in what is now the Rocky Hill section of Amesbury. The First Church also became known as the East Church after 1714. In 1725 the second meeting house was constructed to replace the original 1640 structure. In 1790, the town voted to dismiss the First Church pastor, Edmund Noyes, who was installed in 1751, and unsuccessfully proceeded to invite candidates to fill his position. Noyes refused to recognize his dismissal and continued as pastor at Salisbury until his death in 1809.

After visits by Jesse Lee and Francis Asbury, there was a growing contingent of Methodists within Salisbury during the early nineteenth-century. The Methodists were permitted the use of the second meeting house to worship beginning in 1802. In 1811 the First Methodist Society was formed. In 1833 the Congregationalists voted to unite with the Methodist Society to form the East Parish United Methodist Church. Most members joined the new Methodist Congregation while the remaining affiliated with the Congregational churches in Newburyport. In 1834 the third and final meeting house was built. The East Parish United Methodist Church continues to serve the Salisbury community today.