The principal feature of the site is a long and deep refuse midden, which, despite losses to plowing and erosion, still contained artifacts to a depth of more than 8 feet (2.4 m), indicative of a long period of use.
[3] Evidence of habitation has also been found in the form of depressions, a feature associated with earth lodges, semi-subterranean dwellings typical of the Mill Creek culture.
[4] Finds at the site include pottery fragments from both the Early and Late Little Sioux phases of the Mill Creek culture,[3] and significant assemblages of the remains of raptors, suggesting some sort of ritual importance.
The site also has artifacts attributed to the Middle Mississippian culture, evidence of a fairly long-range trading network.
[4] The site underwent excavation in the 1930s, and again in 1952 under the auspices of Cherokee's Sanford Museum and the Iowa Archaeological Society.