Biohazard and Crime Scene Remediation in Massena, IA

Massena is a small city in Cass County in southwest Iowa whose town motto is "The Home of Friendly People."

The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad platted Massena in 1883-84 on land purchased from A. Vredenburgh, the city was incorporated in 1886, and its first city council meeting was held on March 21, 1887.

Massena was originally platted under the name "Smith," but postal authorities rejected it as too similar to another place, so Civil War soldier Lume A. Stone suggested the name of his hometown, Massena, New York, which itself was named for Andre Massena, one of Napoleon's marshals.

The 2020 census counted 359 people in 150 households in Massena, up slightly from 355 people in 2010; the population peaked at 518 in 1980.

Massena sits among rolling hills at the intersection of Iowa Highways 92 and 148, about halfway between Des Moines and Omaha and 15 miles south of Interstate 80.

The city covers just 0.69 square miles, all of it land.

The Massena Historical Society preserves a restored one-room country schoolhouse, Victoria No. 8, along with a historic barber shop and filling station.

Every July 3 the Massena volunteer fire department sponsors a street dance on Main Street, the Independence Day parade alternates between Massena and Fontanelle, and the town's Massena Red Sox baseball team dates to the 1920s.

Massena is served by the CAM Community School District, formed in 2011 from the Cumberland, Anita and Massena districts, and CAM Elementary School is located in Massena.

Massena's sister community is nearby Cumberland, Iowa, its partner in the CAM school district.