MASSENA - Nearly 100 years of Massena’s history is now available on-line to the general public and researchers alike. So whether it’s information on a family member, fire, or police citation that is being sought - it is only a few clicks away!
The "Massena Observer" may be found on the Northern New York Historical Newspapers web site at news.nnyln.net. The site is provided free of charge to the public by the Northern New York Library Network in Potsdam. The run of papers from 1891-1989 includes the "Massena Observer" (1897-1989), "Northern Observer" (1891-1897), and "Massena Press & Norfolk Times" (1915).
A story that appeared in the Thursday, September 16, 1897 edition of the paper stated, "The OBSERVER goes to its readers this morning under a new name, that of THE MASSENA OBSERVER.
"We are aware there is an old saying that it is a bad omen to change the name of a newspaper, yet we think that the conditions at present justify the change. Although the word NORTHERN was highly appropriate to that newspaper in the county which is published nearest to the Arctic Circle, yet the word Massena today is a much more important term and is destined hereafter to be a synonym for growth, progress, power, wonderland and city," the story continued. "Our objective in this change is that every person seeing the paper may know at a glance that it is printed at this new theatre of activity in Northern New York."
The "Massena Observer" is one of 33 newspapers, including 1,205,000 pages on the Northern New York Historical Newspapers site. Go to news.nnyln.net for a complete listing of on-line newspapers, which may be searched by county or individual paper.
The Northern New York Library Network is a regional multitype library agency primarily dedicated to cooperatively providing support and services necessary for all of its members to meet their individual goals. The Network serves libraries in the seven counties of Northern New York for the ultimate benefit of the library user. For more information on the Network, go to www.nnyln.org.