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Amesbury is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the left bank of the Merrimack River near its mouth, upstream from Salisbury and across the river from Newburyport and West Newbury. The population was 17,366 at the 2020 United States Census. A former farming and mill town, Amesbury is today largely residential. It is one of the two northernmost towns in Massachusetts (the other being neighboring Salisbury).

In 1637, the first English settler in the Salisbury Amesbury region, John Bayly, crossed the Merrimack River from the new settlement at Newbury, built a log cabin, and began to clear the land for cultivation. He intended to send for his wife and children in England, but they never joined him. He and his hired man, William Schooler, were arrested for a murder Schooler had committed. On September 6, 1638, the General Court of Massachusetts created a plantation on behalf of several petitioners from Newbury, on the left bank of the Merrimack, as far north as Hampton, to be called Merrimac. They were given permission to associate together as a township. Although nominally subjects of the crown, they did not obey it. The settlers maintained close ties with the Parliamentary cause in Britain. In November, the General Court appointed a government of six, which required that every lot owner take up residence on his lot. They began to assign lots west of the Pow wow river. The town was originally named Colchester, but was renamed Salisbury in October 1640, potentially at the suggestion of Christopher Batt, from Salisbury, England. On January 12, 1641, a town meeting ordered the first roads north and west of the Pow wow River to be built. On April 21, another meeting granted William Osgood 50 acres of "upland" and 10 of "meadow" along the Pow wow River, provided he build a sawmill for the town to use. It utilized a water wheel driven by the Pow wow River. The Powwow River provided water power for a subsequent mill complex. Norfolk contained Salisbury, Hampton, Haverhill, Exeter, Dover, and Strawberry Bank (Portsmouth). Private occupation of the west bank of the Pow wow River went on as East Salisbury citizens sold their property and moved to New Town. However, New Town remained a paper construct without enforcement. They still paid taxes to Old Town and expected services from it. The board of Old Town contained some members from New Town for fair representation. This agreement also was known as a "settlement". On May 26, 1658, New Town petitioned the General Court for independent town status, but the Old Town denied the petition. The Old Town required all inhabitants, including those in the New Town, to attend church in Old Town and fined settlers for each missed meeting

The burden of attending church several miles away became so great that New Town built a new meeting house and requested the General Court to find a preacher. The court yielded to the petition of 1666, granting the "liberty of a township" to New Town. Amesbury was officially granted incorporation under that name on April 29, 1668. Massachusetts was reduced in size from most of New England to roughly its current borders. The Court dissolved Norfolk Shire, transferring Salisbury and Amesbury to Essex County. In 1886, West Salisbury was annexed to Amesbury, unifying the mill areas on both banks of the Pow wow River.

Beginning as a modest farming community, it developed a maritime and industrial economy. Shipbuilding, shipping and fishing were also important. The ferry across the Merrimack River to Newburyport was a business until the construction of bridges to cross the river. Newton, New Hampshire, was set off from Amesbury in 1741, when the border between the two colonies was adjusted. In the 19th century, textile mills were built at the falls, Beginning around 1800, Amesbury began building carriages, a trade which evolved into the manufacture of automobile bodies. Prominent manufacturers included Walker Body Company, Briggs Carriage Company, and Biddle and Smart. The industry ended with the Great Depression. Amesbury also produced Hoyt's Buffalo Brand Peanut Butter Kisses. In 1876, the town of Merrimac was set off from Amesbury. Newspapers in the 19th century included the Amesbury Daily News, Merrimac Journal, Morning Courier, Evening Courier, New England Chronicle, Transcript, and the Villager. Newspapers in the 20th century included the Amesbury Advocate, Amesbury News, Amesbury Times, and Leader. Voters approved a charter amendment in November 2011 changing the city's official name to the "City of Amesbury" and removing references to the old "Town of Amesbury" name. The name change took effect in March 2012. The city's seal still bears the name "Town of Amesbury", although the City put forth a bill in 2013 to correct the seal with the new name. The "Doughboy", a memorial sculpture by Leonard Craske, stands on the front lawn of the Amesbury Middle School. It was dedicated November 11, 1929. There is also a monument erected to Josiah Bartlett, the first signer of the Declaration of Independence, who was born in Amesbury.

Amesbury is located at According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 10.65%, is water. Amesbury is drained by the Powwow River. Powwow Hill, elevation 331 feet (101 m), is the highest point in town. Once the site of Indian gatherings, or "powwows", it has views to Maine and Cape Ann. Amesbury is the second northernmost town in Massachusetts, its northernmost point coming just south of the northernmost point of the state, in Salisbury. Amesbury lies along the northern banks of the Merrimack River and is bordered by Salisbury to the east, Newburyport to the southeast, West Newbury to the southwest, Merrimac to the west, and South Hampton, New Hampshire, to the north. The Powwow River bisects the town, joined by the Back River near the town center. The river flows through Lake Gardner and Tuxbury Pond, which are two of several inland bodies of water in town, including Lake Attitash (which is partially in Merrimac), Meadowbrook Pond, and Pattens Pond. Several brooks also flow through the town. Amesbury has a town forest, which is connected to Woodsom Farm, as well as Powwow Conservation Area, Victoria Batchelder Park and Amesbury Golf & Country Club.

Amesbury is served by two interstate highways. Interstate 495 runs from west to east through town, ending at Interstate 95 just over the Salisbury town line. It has two exits in town, Exit 54 at Massachusetts Route 150 (which lies entirely within Amesbury, and leads to New Hampshire Route 150) and Exit 55 at Massachusetts Route 110, which also provides the town's only direct access to Interstate 95 at Exit 58. I 95 crosses the southeast corner of town, entering along the John Greenleaf Whittier Memorial Bridge, a steel through truss bridge crossing the Merrimack River. The Whittier Memorial Bridge lies just west of the town's only other bridges across the Merrimack, the Derek S. Hines Memorial Bridge, which connects Amesbury to Deer Island (which is still part of Amesbury), and the Chain Bridge, the only suspension bridge in Massachusetts, which spans from Deer Island to Newburyport. The current version was built in 1909, but was predated by the 1810 suspension bridge, one of the oldest suspension bridges in the country. The Chain Bridge and its counterparts over the years have been the main entryways into town across the Merrimack, and until the building of the Newburyport Turnpike Bridge, it was the easternmost bridge on the Merrimack River. MVRTA provides bus service in Amesbury. Route 51 connects to the Haverhill train station. Route 54 connects to Newburyport train station.

Amesbury is part of the Massachusetts Senate's 1st Essex district.

As of the census of 2000, there were 16,450 people, 6,380 households, and 4,229 families residing in the city. The population density was There were 6,623 housing units at an average density of 206.2 persons/km2 (534.0 persons/sq mi). The racial makeup of the city was 97.2% White, 0.6% African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.9% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,380 households, out of which 34.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.2% were married couples living together, 11.3% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 33.7% were non families. 26.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.09. In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 6.1% from 18 to 24, 33.8% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $34,906, and the median income for a family was $62,875. Males had a median income of $25,489 versus $31,968 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,103. 5.9% of the population and 3.9% of families were below the poverty line.

As of 2012, the Amesbury Public Library pays for access to information resources produced by Brainfuse, Cengage Learning, EBSCO Industries, LearningExpress, Library Ideas, Mango Languages, NewsBank, Online Computer Library Center (OCLC), ProQuest, TumbleBook Library, World Book of Berkshire Hathaway, and World Trade Press. The Public Library houses an extensive Local History and genealogy collection which is open and available for research.

Amesbury Vital Records to 1849. Published 1913. Transcribed and put online by John Slaughter and Jodi Salerno. Merrill, Joseph, History of Amesbury, from the History of Essex County Volume 2 Chapter 125, pages 1495–1535, compiled by D. Hamilton Hurd, published by J. W. Lewis 1888.

Sargeant, Christopher. 1794 Map of Amesbury. Clough, Aaron. 1795 Map of Salisbury. Nichols, W., J S Morse. 1830 Map of Amesbury. Anderson, Philander. 1830 Map of Salisbury. Beers, D. G. 1872 Atlas of Essex County, Massachusetts Amesbury. Plate 9. Amesbury and Salisbury Mills. Now Amesbury Center. Plate 12. Salisbury. Plate 15. West Amesbury now Merrimac. And East Salisbury. Plate 17. Salisbury Point. Plate 19. (Now The Point in Amesbury). Bigelow, E. H. Amesbury and Salisbury Mills. Bird's eye view at the Boston Public Library website. Norris, George E. Amesbury. Panoramic View. Published 1890. Burleigh Lith. Est. At the Library of Congress website. Hughes & Bailey. Amesbury. Panoramic View. Published 1914. Walker, George H. 1884 Atlas of Essex County Massachusetts 1884 Map of Amesbury. Plate 169. Amesbury, Salisbury Point. Plate 74. Merrimac Center (was West Amesbury). Plate 151. Amesbury Village Mills. Plate 170 171. 1884 Map of Merrimac. Plate 172. 1884 Map of Salisbury. Plate 175. Salisbury Village Mills on the Powwow River. Plate. 176 177. East Salisbury. Plate 178. Danvers Catholic Church, Folger's Carriage Factory Amesbury. Plate 166.