Massena, New York
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Massena is a
town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12,433 at the 2020 census.US Census Results, 2020, Massena town, New York https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/massenatownstlawrencecountynewyork The town of Massena contains a
village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...
also named Massena.


History

Massena was established in 1792 by Anable Faucher. The settlement was initially called ''Nikentsiake'' by the Mohawk Indians, translating to "where the fish live." Massena was one of the first towns settled in St. Lawrence county, but was not incorporated until 1802 when it was formed from the town of
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
. The town and its village are named after
André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...
, a general and
Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used fo ...
to Napoleon during the
Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...
. The town boasted the Massena Springs, a pair of sulfur springs, one hot and the other cold, reputed to possess healing powers known to the Native Americans before European settlement. In 1820, an Army veteran, Captain John Polley, hoping to capitalize on the properties, opened a hotel and began to advertise them. By 1858, three hotels, numerous rental cottages, a bathing house, and a plant that bottled and sold the spring water, had been built. By about 1900, the Springs' status as a popular resort had faded. Up until the 1880s, the town was predominantly agricultural, mainly home to butter and cheese production. The first small mills were built in the 1830s, harnessing the Grasse River to turn their wheels. They included a saw mill, stone-cutter, and a tannery. In 1833, New York State Legislature approved a canal that would bypass a troublesome rapids hindering navigation on the St. Lawrence by linking the Grasse and St. Lawrence Rivers. However, the
British North America British North America comprised the colonial territories of the British Empire in North America from 1783 onwards. English colonisation of North America began in the 16th century in Newfoundland, then further south at Roanoke and Jamestown, ...
n government preempted this project by building the Cornwall Canal on the Canadian side of the River, completed in 1843. The Massena Canal project was revived at the end of the century and completed in 1898, finally connecting the Grasse River and St. Lawrence River. A powerhouse built in 1900 provided hydroelectric power to the town. The new canal attracted the Pittsburgh Reduction Company (later Alcoa). This influx of industry workers transformed former health retreat hotels into housing for the burgeoning workforce. The Massena Power Canal was closed in 1958. In 1928 the town was the scene of the antisemitic Massena blood libel. The town's
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
were falsely accused of
kidnapping Kidnapping or abduction is the unlawful abduction and confinement of a person against their will, and is a crime in many jurisdictions. Kidnapping may be accomplished by use of force or fear, or a victim may be enticed into confinement by frau ...
and ritual murder of a girl. In the 1950s, the New York Power Authority was established, leading to the creation of the St. Lawrence-Franklin D. Roosevelt Power Project. Spanning the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
, the hydropower plant was capable of generating over 900,000 kilowatts of electricity. Simultaneously, the 1950s witnessed the development of the St. Lawrence Seaway, a monumental American-Canadian navigational project. This system of locks and gates facilitated the movement of boats through the river, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. With the completion of the Seaway and Power Project, Massena experienced a significant expansion at the Alcoa plant, solidifying its status as the oldest continuously operating aluminum production facility in the Western Hemisphere. The 1980s saw the establishment of the St. Lawrence Centre Mall and St. Lawrence strip mall complex, fostering a regional retail hub, attracting Canadian shoppers. The town suffered natural disasters in the 1944 Cornwall-Massena earthquake and in the January 1998 North American ice storm.


Geography and climate

Massena is located just south of the
St. Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawren ...
, and the
Grasse Grasse (; Provençal dialect, Provençal in classical norm or in Mistralian norm ; traditional ) is the only Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur Re ...
and Racquette rivers pass through town.


Climate

Massena has a
humid continental climate A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers, and cold ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
: ''Dfb'').


Economy

The modern town's economy is centered on power production, the commerce of the St. Lawrence Seaway, and an Alcoa Aluminum plant, the world's longest continually operating aluminum facility. Alcoa employs over 600 people at its facilities in Massena. The New York Power Authority now operates a hydroelectric power generating dam, the St. Lawrence-FDR Power Project, on the St. Lawrence River adjacent to Massena. Curran Renewable Energy manufactures wood pellet fuel and mulch in the town. Massena is also home to the Eisenhower and Snell Locks, part of the St. Lawrence Seaway which allows ships and vessels to pass through the St. Lawrence River and on to the
Great Lakes The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes spanning the Canada–United States border. The five lakes are Lake Superior, Superior, Lake Michigan, Michigan, Lake Huron, H ...
. While on November 2, 2015, Alcoa announced the idling of the smelter at its "Alcoa West" plant, the facility remained open through negotiations with New York State, and 400 jobs were saved until 2019. The Forgings and Extrusions facilities at Alcoa West were unaffected. The changes resulted in the loss of 487 jobs. It was estimated in 2013 that nearly 30% of Massena residents live below the poverty line. St. Lawrence County's poverty rate is higher than both the state and federal rates and ranks the 5th highest in New York State.


Demographics

By 2012 industrial employment had declined and there were 10,357 people in the town, down from 16,021 in 1970. As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2000, there were 13,121 people, 2,510 households, and 3,454 families residing in the town. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 5,880 housing units at an average density of . The town's racial makeup was 96.80%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.30%
Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 1.25% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.18% from other races, and .02% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 0.83% of the population. There were 5,510 households, of which 39.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.1% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.3% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.98 and the average family size was 3.67. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.7% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 88.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.7 males. The town's median household income was $58,391, and the median family income was $62,696. Males had a median income of $48,484 versus $46,819 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
was $25,111. About 6.9% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.


Communities and locations in Massena

* Barnhardt Island – An
island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
in the St. Lawrence River northeast of Massena village. The island is at the international border and is the northernmost point of land in New York. * Long Sault Island ("Isle au Long Saut") – An island in the St. Lawrence River north of Massena village. * Massena – A village at the western town line on both banks of the Grasse River. * Massena Center – A
hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...
northeast of Massena village. * Massena Power Canal – A waterway connecting the Grasse River to the St. Lawrence River. * Massena Springs – A hamlet south of Massena village by the Raquette River. The community was the site of health resorts and hotels based on sulphurous spring water. * Raquette River – A hamlet east of Massena village by the Raquette River. It was first settled ''circa'' 1804. * Robert Moses State Park – A
state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...
in the northern part of the town. * Rooseveltown – A hamlet near the eastern town line by the Raquette River. * Wiley Dondero Canal – A waterway constructed as part of the St. Lawrence power project.


Education

Both the entire village, and almost all of the town of Massena are served by the Massena Central School District, which also serves most of the Town of Louisville, and portions of
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
and Brasher towns. Additionally, it contains a portion of the
Akwesasne The Mohawk Nation at Akwesasne ( ; ; ) is a Mohawk Nation (''Kanienʼkehá:ka'') territory that straddles the intersection of international (United States and Canada) borders and provincial (Ontario and Quebec) boundaries on both banks of the St ...
cemsus-designated place,
Text list
/ref> and the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation. *Jefferson Elementary School (K-6) *Madison Elementary School (K-6) *Nightengale Elementary School (K-6) *J. William Leary Junior High School (7–8) * Massena Central High School (9–12) *Trinity Catholic School (K-6) *Holy Name of Jesus Academy (K-12)


Transportation

New York State Route 37, a northeast–southwest highway, passes along the outskirts of the town. The town is served by Massena International Airport, east of Massena village, south of NY-37. Trailways of New York provides bus service from Massena to Syracuse. The town had until 1961 been the terminus for
New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected New York metropolitan area, gr ...
(NYC) sleeping car passenger service on its St. Lawrence Division; the last sleepers came in from the NYC's ''Iroquois'' and the outgoing sleeper fed into the ''New York Special.'' The final run of regular local trains into the town was in 1964.


Radio

* 1340 WMSA * WVLF-FM Mix 96.1 * WRCD-FM 101.5 The Fox * WYBG – AM 1050 (defunct as of June 30, 2015)


In popular culture

Massena was a location featured in '' Me, Myself & Irene'', released in 2000, starring Jim Carrey and Renée Zellweger. Massena was a location featured in the film '' Frozen River''. '' For Ellen'', released in 2012, was filmed in Massena and the surrounding area.


Notable people

* Avery D. Andrews, brigadier general in the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
* William G. Bissell, Wisconsin State Senator, merchant, salesman and farmer, was born in Massena. * Stephanie Bissonnette, dancer and choreographer known for her role in the original Broadway production of the musical ''Mean Girls'' * Aaron Bogosian, former
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
player * Zach Bogosian, National Hockey League player on the
Minnesota Wild The Minnesota Wild are a professional ice hockey team based in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The Wild compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Confer ...
* Gary Danko, chef * Timothy Fay, Lieutenant General, United States Air Force * Jim Deshaies, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player, television color analyst * Follett Johnson, Medal of Honor recipient * Mike Hurlbut, retired professional hockey player, collegiate ice hockey coach * Bid McPhee, former
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
player and member of the
Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...
* Horace N. Polley, Wisconsin State Assemblyman and farmer, was born in Massena''Wisconsin Blue Book 1899'', Biographical Sketch of Horace N. Polley, p. 770 * Myron Reed, Wisconsin State Senator and lawyer, was born in Massena. * Hal Smith, actor


See also

*
André Masséna André Masséna, prince d'Essling, duc de Rivoli (; born Andrea Massena; 6 May 1758 – 4 April 1817), was a French military commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was one of the original eighteen Marshal of the ...
, Napoleonic general. * Massena,
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
, another community, named after Massena, NY


References


External links


Massena information
€”NorthCountryNow.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Massena (Town), New York Populated places established in 1802 New York (state) populated places on the Saint Lawrence River Towns in St. Lawrence County, New York Towns in New York (state) 1802 establishments in New York (state)