It preserves a bed of ancient stromatolites in a Cambrian rock layer, which were the first to be recognized and understood for what they are.

The outcrops are a part of a larger geological formation known as the Hoyt Limestone, which is also exposed in Lester Park, a public park operated by the New York State Museum about 1 mile (1.6 km) north of this site.

James Hall (1811–1898), the first State Paleontologist of New York, identified them as being organic and placed stromatolites in a new genus.

Samples from this site were later compared to stromatolites of more recent construction found in Australia.

[1] In 1924, Robert F. Ritchie, a stonemason and amateur geologist who owned the property, opened a park to show them to the public.