The site was most likely utilized by a number of different cultures. The earliest occupiers were likely Middle Woodland period peoples. Based on distinctive pottery associated with different residences, it is likely these people had patrilocal residences. A later part of the Summer Island site included hearths, a storage pit, and waste pits, and has been ascribed Upper Mississippian culture and Late Woodland period peoples. The inhabitants of the site likely occupied it in the late summer, and ate a variety of game, including mammals (moose and beaver), fish, birds, reptiles, and amphibians. The final occupiers had early French trade goods, indicating they likely used the site around 1620; they used the site as a late summer hunting camp.
