Massena (village), New York

Massena, New York
—  Village  —
Nickname(s): Nothinghereville
Massena, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 44°55′49″N 74°53′27″W / 44.93028°N 74.89083°W / 44.93028; -74.89083Coordinates: 44°55′49″N 74°53′27″W / 44.93028°N 74.89083°W / 44.93028; -74.89083
Country	United States
State	New York
County	St. Lawrence
Government
• Mayor	James Hidy
Area
• Total	4.7 sq mi (12.2 km2)
• Land	4.5 sq mi (11.7 km2)
• Water	0.2 sq mi (0.5 km2)
Elevation	230 ft (70 m)
Population (2010)[1]
• Total	10,936
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
FIPS code	36-46019
GNIS feature ID	0976634
Website	http://www.massenaworks.com

Massena is a village in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,936 at the 2010 census. The village is named after Andre Massena, one of Napoleon's generals.

The Village of Massena is at the southwestern town line of the Town of Massena, with a small southeastern section of the community spilling into the Town of Louisville. The village is located near the northern county border.

History

The village was first settled around 1803. Part of its early growth was based on neighboring medicinal springs. André Masséna was one of the original eighteen Marshals of France created by Napoleon.

Massena is the home town of Baseball Hall of Fame member Bid McPhee, who was born there in 1859.

In 1928 it was the site of a blood libel against its small Jewish community.^[2] Its history has been recorded by the town's longstanding newspaper, The Courier-Observer, formerly named The Massena Observer.

Throughout the mid 20th century, Massena experienced enormous growth due to the construction of the Franklin D. Roosevelt power project and the Eisenhower locks which helped connect the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River. Massena established itself as the manufacturing center of St. Lawrence county with an Alcoa aluminum plant, Reynolds Metals plant (now Alcoa) and a General Motors powertrain plant (dismantled in 2011). The Alcoa east plant was temporarily idled in 2009.

The village has experienced negative population growth in recent decades largely due to its eroding industrial base and incomes. The unemployment and crime rates for the village have doubled in the past decade.

Many of the mainstreet storefronts of downtown remain vacant. Some of the abandoned buildings along water street have been torn down as well as other various vacant homes throughout the town. Furthermore, the St. Lawrence Centre Mall, once a thriving shopping center, has seen nearly 70% of its stores leave the town.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²), of which, 4.5 square miles (11.7 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km²) of it (3.82%) is water.

The village is located on the banks of the Grasse River and the Raquette River a few miles south of the St. Lawrence River. Robert Moses State Park is located northeast of the village.The Eisonhower Lock System is located around the area before the Robert Moses State Park and was established in 1954 and has been running ever since.

East-west highways New York State Route 37B intersects New York State Route 37 in the village, and both intersect New York State Route 420, a north-south highway.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 12,209 people, 4,793 households, and 2,938 families residing in the village. The population density was 2,472.5 people per square mile (955.4/km²). There were 5,103 housing units at an average density of 1,125.6 per square mile (434.9/km²). The racial makeup of the village was 95.49% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 2.11% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.24% from other races, and 1.03% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.19% of the population.

There were 4,793 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.3% were married couples living together, 12.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 32.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 88.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.1 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $30,783, and the median income for a family was $39,919. Males had a median income of $37,552 versus $19,892 for females. The per capita income for the village was $17,709. About 14.2% of families and 17.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.2% of those under age 18 and 11.7% of those age 65 or over.

Radio

• 1340 WMSA with Sandy Cook www.1340wmsa.com
• WVLF-FM Mix 96.1 www.mymix961.com
• WRCD-FM 101.5 The Fox www.1015thefox.com

Culture

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2009)

• In the film Me, Myself, and Irene, the protagonist's goal was to reach Massena, NY, but the scene taking place in Massena was actually filmed in Waterbury, VT.

• Several scenes of the film Frozen River by Courtney Hunt were filmed in March 2007 in Massena.

• The independent film For Ellen starring actor Paul Dano and Dakota Johnson was filmed in Massena in February 2010.

• Comedian Lewis Black called Massena 'the ice pit' of the north in a segment of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2008.

• Singer Sammy Davis Jr. of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack performed with his uncle in Massena during the summer of 1940.

• The stars of the television show Ghost Hunters did an investigation in Massena in 2005.

References

External links

• Massena webpage
• Massena Fire Department
• Massena area information/links
• Massena local portal/links
• Massena Historic Map

v t e Municipalities and communities of St. Lawrence County, New York, United States County seat: Canton City Ogdensburg Towns Brasher Canton Clare Clifton Colton De Kalb De Peyster Edwards Fine Fowler Gouverneur Hammond Hermon Hopkinton Lawrence Lisbon Louisville Macomb Madrid Massena Morristown Norfolk Oswegatchie Parishville Piercefield Pierrepont Pitcairn Potsdam Rossie Russell Stockholm Waddington Villages Canton Edwards Gouverneur Hammond Hermon Heuvelton Massena Morristown Norwood Potsdam Rensselaer Falls Richville Waddington CDPs Brasher Falls–Winthrop Norfolk Star Lake Other hamlets Cranberry Lake Crary Mills Helena Massena Center Morley Newton Falls Rooseveltown Wanakena