Colonial Newburyport lacked the bridges that currently link Newburyport with Salisbury and Amesbury on the left bank of the river. Newbury, West Newbury and Newburyport were originally the same parcel of land, settled in 1635 by an English party, which landed on the left bank of a river later (1697) renamed the Parker River, after the settlement's spiritual counselor, Rev. Parker. Before long the pine woods on the ridge of the right bank of the Merrimack had been cleared in favor of homesteads. "Country Lane" (High Street) led from Newbury to Bradford Road (Storey Street). The remaining forest between Bradford Road and the river was called the "Upper Woods", of which a small fragment hosts the eagles today.