The site, which includes a habitation area surrounded by a large mound group, is currently bisected by Trunk Highway 63. A majority of the area is now used as farmland and pastureland. Unfortunately, because it has been known for a long time, the site has been the target of private collectors. Archaeologists have also recovered numerous artifacts that can be used to understand the past. Soil colors are sometimes easier to see when moist.
Archaeologists spray the excavation with water before mapping soil profiles.
The Adams site was first mapped by T.H. Lewis in October of 1885. Unlike some of the other Red Wing Locality villages, Lewis noted prehistoric pottery sherds and other artifacts lying on the ground as he was mapping. After Lewis a number of other 19th-century researchers visited Adams, but formal examination was not undertaken until 1981 by the Institute for Minnesota Archaeology. Archaeologists from the Institute for Minnesota Archaeology conducted a surface survey in 1984, recovering a variety of artifacts, including ceramics and lithics, from the Adams site. Artifact groupings were found throughout the village.