The Smith Focus is primarily associated with the Smith Site, which is located along the northern border of Minnesota north of International Falls, between Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods along the Rainy River. Lloyd Wilford excavated the Smith Site in the 1930s. He referred to it as the Grand Mounds, because of the five well defined burial mounds at the site.
The habitations associated with the Smith Focus primarily utilize Laurel Pottery and are associated with headwater river usage. This is accounted for by various reasons. First, there have been a large number of bone fragments of fish, river mammals, and waterfowl found in the village habitation sites, indicating it was used as a primary food source. It is also believed that during the Early Woodland period, these headwater areas were covered by deciduous forests, which would provide a better selection of game and wild plant sources than the typical coniferous forests of the area. And it is has also been thought that the river may have been an important means of communications and travel for their culture.
The Smith Focus is closely associated with the McKinstry Focus, which is also a part of the Laurel Aspect and located in the same region.
Lugenbeal, Edward Norman, The archeology of the Smith site : a study of the ceramics and culture history of Minnesota Laurel and Blackduck, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 1976.