| Massena | |
| Official Name: | Town of Massena |
| Nickname: | Gateway to the Fourth Coast |
| Mapsize: | 250x200px |
| Pushpin Map: | USA New York |
| Pushpin Label Position: | bottom |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the state of New York |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1802 |
| Government Type: | Town council: Thomas Miller, Adrian Taraska, Deb Willer |
| Leader Name: | Sue Bellor |
| Leader Title1: | Deputy Town Supervisor |
| Leader Name1: | Patrick Facteau |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Total Km2: | 145.42 |
| Area Total Sq Mi: | 56.14 |
| Area Land Km2: | 114.85 |
| Area Land Sq Mi: | 44.34 |
| Area Water Km2: | 30.56 |
| Area Water Sq Mi: | 11.80 |
| Elevation M: | 61 |
| Elevation Ft: | 200 |
| Population Total: | 12433 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code |
| Postal Code: | 13662 |
| Utc Offset: | −5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | −4 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
Massena is a town in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. Massena is along the county's northern border, just south of the St. Lawrence River and the Three Nations Crossing of the Canada–United States border. The population was 12,433 at the 2020 census.[2] [3] The town of Massena contains a village also named Massena.
Native Americans have lived in the region for over 9,000 years. Archaeological studies reveal a vibrant pre-Columbian era marked by extensive hunting, fishing, gathering, and sophisticated trading networks.[4]
Massena was established in 1792 by Anable Faucher. The settlement was initially called Nikentsiake by the Mohawk Indians, translating to "where the fish live."[4] [5] 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. The town and its village are named after André Masséna, a general and Marshal to Napoleon during the Napoleonic Wars.[6]
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.[7]
Up until the 1880s, the town was predominantly agricultural, mainly home to butter and cheese production.[7] 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 American government preempted this project by building the Cornwall Canal on the Canadian side of the River, completed in 1843.[7] [8]
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.[4] [9] 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.[4] The Massena Power Canal was closed in 1958.[9]
In 1928 the town was the scene of the antisemitic Massena blood libel. The town's Jews were falsely accused of kidnapping and ritual murder of a girl.[10] [11]
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 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.[4]
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.[4]
The town suffered natural disasters in the 1944 Cornwall-Massena earthquake and in the January 1998 North American ice storm.
Massena is located just south of the St. Lawrence River, and the Grasse and Racquette rivers pass through town.[4]
Massena has a humid continental climate (Köppen: Dfb).
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.[12] Alcoa employs over 600 people at its facilities in Massena. Massena's economy has suffered for the past few decades due to the decline of American manufacturing and the automotive industry.
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.
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.[13]
It was estimated in 2013 that nearly 30% of Massena residents live below the poverty line.[14] St. Lawrence County's poverty rate is higher than both the state and federal rates and ranks the 5th highest in New York State.
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 of 2000, there were 13,121 people, 2,510 households, and 3,454 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 5,880 housing units at an average density of 131.6/mi2. The town's racial makeup was 96.80% White, 0.30% Black or African American, 1.25% Native American, 0.41% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and .02% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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 was $25,111. About 6.9% of families and 8.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.4% of those under age 18 and 1.8% of those age 65 or over.
Both the village and town of Massena are served by the Massena Central School District, which also serves most of Louisville, a portion of Norfolk and Brasher, and the St. Regis Mohawk Reservation.
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.[15] The town had until 1961 been the terminus for New York Central Railroad (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.[16] The final run of regular local trains into the town was in 1964.[17] [18]
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.
