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                                                                      Exhibit 23

                        INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANTS' CONSENT

The Board of Directors
MASSBANK Corp.:

We consent to incorporation by reference in the Registration Statements (No.
33-11949 and No. 33-82110) on Form S-8 of MASSBANK Corp. of our report dated
January 9, 2001, relating to the consolidated balance sheets of MASSBANK Corp.
and subsidiaries as of December 31, 2000 and 1999 and the related consolidated
statements of income, changes in stockholders' equity and cash flows for each of
the years in the three-year period ended December 31, 2000, which report is
incorporated by reference into the December 31, 2000 annual report on Form 10-K
of MASSBANK Corp.


                                                           /s/ KPMG LLP

Boston, Massachusetts
March 26, 2001