The village is south of the current village of Cayuga and north of the former Cayuga Nation village of Gwau-gwah Cayuga Castle. The native village was a target of the Sullivan Expedition of 1779. After the war, a reservation was established for the Cayuga who returned, but they gave up their land rights before 1800. The village was incorporated in 1848. Mineral springs near the village made the village an important health spa. Magnolias are spreading, evergreen or deciduous trees or shrubs, characterized by large fragrant flowers which may be bowl-shaped or star-shaped, in shades of white, pink, purple, green or yellow. In deciduous species the blooms often appear before the leaves, in spring.