Magnolia has an odd name for a granite coast in Massachusetts, and the explanation is unusually good. In the nineteenth century a sweetbay magnolia was found growing wild in a swamp here, hundreds of miles north of its normal range, and the village took its name from the tree. The tree is still said to survive in the swamp, and it is a small mystery of botany, a southern plant left behind in a northern climate. It is also a reminder that Cape Ann's cold, rocky edge has pockets of surprising shelter.
The village is small and quiet, a cluster of old houses, a few shops, a small beach and a lane of summer cottages and grand old hotels from the era when wealthy visitors arrived by steamer and train. Along the shore, the rocks tumble to the sea in shelves and chasms, and the best known is Rafe's Chasm, a narrow cleft in the granite where the waves surge and boom. Nearby, Norman's Woe, a sunken reef off the shore, is the setting of Longfellow's poem The Wreck of the Hesperus, which tells of a schooner lost in a winter storm, and one of the roads in the village is named for the ship.
The coast road here is among the finest on the North Shore. It follows the shoreline through a run of tight bends, up and down over granite ledges, with views of the sea and the rocky islets just offshore, and it passes through woods of oak and pine and past large old estates. Traffic is slow because the roads are narrow and often busy, with cyclists, joggers and drivers who stop for the view. The pace is gentle, and it rewards patience. In the summer months, especially on weekends, the beaches fill up, and parking is a problem, so aim for an early start.
Gloucester, five kilometres away, has fuel and every service, and Manchester-by-the-Sea is the other nearby town. Magnolia has a small shop and a couple of places for a cup of coffee, but little else. The best time to go is an autumn morning, when the sea is deep blue, the air is sharp and the leaves on the oaks have gone russet. A bit of fog off the sea in the morning is common, and it adds to the atmosphere.