Massena

Massena is in upstate New York right on the Saint Lawrence River which forms the border with Canada.

There is a bridge to the Canadian town of Cornwall a few miles downriver. Forty miles (60 km) upriver is another bridge linking Ogdensburg, New York to Prescott, Ontario.

Understand
Massena, founded 1802 and named for one of Napoleon's field marshals, André Masséna, was built on forestry and tourism to Massena Springs, an early health spa. The town industrialized with the construction of the hydroelectric dam and Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1958, with Alcoa using its energy to manufacture aluminum. General Motors operated an aluminum engine-casting plant which was closed in 2008; a paper industry which had left Cornwall-Massena heavily polluted in the 1970s is also now gone.

Ocean-going vessels from as far west as Duluth pass through Massena's two locks on their way to the Atlantic; the Seaway typically opens in late March and operates until mid-December. Recreational boaters may take vessels 20' (9 m) or larger through the locks, but the huge "Seaway max" cargo ships are given priority.

Because of the multiple boundaries (Ontario, Québec, New York State and the Mohawk nation all converge nearby) the area is a customs agent's nightmare and a smuggler's dream.

By car
There is no US Interstate highway in the region; I-81 (Watertown) and I-87 (Plattsburgh) run north to the Thousand Islands and Montréal respectively, but neither reaches Massena. On the Canadian side, Cornwall is part of the busy Windsor-Quebec corridor; Ontario highway 138 leads from the 401 and 417 freeways south to the Cornwall-Massena international bridge.
 * From Watertown: NY 37 runs from Watertown through Ogdensburg and Massena to Malone, terminating at US 11 at both endpoints. Another option is to take Interstate 81 north to the Thousand Islands, then head downriver (NY 12 to NY 37 on the US side, or the 401 in Canada).
 * From Montréal and Toronto: Exit Ontario 401 (aka Québec Autoroute 20) to Ontario 138 southbound at Cornwall. Once on the US side, follow NY 37 directly upriver to Massena.
 * From Ottawa-Gatineau: Take the Trans-Canada Highway 417 to Casselman (midway between Ottawa and Montréal), turn south onto Ontario 138 through Cornwall to Massena.

Akwesasne
Mohawk native reserve on the St. Lawrence River between Massena and Malone (New York); this Indian reservation straddles the Ontario-Québec-New York border near Hogansburg NY, extending across Cornwall Island ON and into St Régis, Quebec.

The village of St Regis is legally part of Canada but it is separated from Cornwall by the river. It adjoins Fort Covington, New York, by land; a phone call between the two is a local call. The "Jay Treaty" between the US and Britain allows native people to cross the border unhindered, to bring goods with them, and to live and work in either country without needing a visa. There has been considerable controversy over the interpretation of this treaty, including lawsuits, arrests and demonstrations.



Go next

 * Adirondack State Park
 * Malone
 * Cornwall and Montréal
 * Canton and Potsdam
 * Prescott-Ogdensburg
 * Thousand Islands and Watertown
 * Ottawa-Gatineau