According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2), all land.

Large venetian blind and buggy whip factories operated in Messina in the late nineteenth century.

In the 1870s, the main line of the New York Central Railroad was built through the northern part of Messina.

The DeWitt Railyards complex, one of the busiest in the world in its day, stretched from Messina five miles east to Minoa.

During most of the nineteenth century the larger part of the hamlet was south of the railroad yards, but as the population grew with rail workers, housing expanded to the north.

During the boom following construction of the railroad, the name "East Syracuse" began to replace Messina.

In the 20th century, Erie Boulevard was built over the canal from west of Syracuse to about a mile past Headson's landing.

Now only a small portion of the original settlement south of the railroad remains, including about 100 of the village's 1400 dwelling units.

A recent list of the mayors of East Syracuse (with party affiliation) includes: The annual village operating budget for the fiscal year that began on June 1, 2013, is $5,231,210, including the separate sewer and water budgets, of which $2,201,934 or 42% comes from local property taxes.

[6] The East Syracuse-Minoa Central School District, which covers the majority of the village,[8] is a public school system headquartered in the Town of Manlius,[9][10] also including its surrounding area (Minoa,[8] Kirkville, and the easternmost portion of Eastwood[citation needed]).

The East Syracuse Department of Public Works uses several late-model International dump trucks for plowing and other assorted tasks.