Massena , New York

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 André Masséna, 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, and a tiny portion in the Town of Norfolk. The village is located near the northern county border.HistoryThe village was first settled circa 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 hometown of Baseball Hall of Fame member Bid McPhee, who was born there in 1859. Voice actor Hal Smith spent a significant part of his early years living in Massena. He graduated from the Massena High School in 1936.In 1928, Massena was the site of a blood libel against its small Jewish community. 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 to the Great Lakes via the St. Lawrence River. Massena established itself as the manufacturing center of St. Lawrence county with Aluminum Company Of America (Alcoa) plant, Reynolds Metals plant (now Alcoa) and a General Motors Powertrain plant (dismantled in 2011). The Alcoa East plant was temporarily idled in 2009, but began to restart pot lines in January 2011.