Cross Mound Park gets its name from the unique ancient earthwork structure situated in the shape of a plus-sign, or cross, composed of four identical arms each about 12 feet wide, three feet high and 45 feet long. The cross sits at the top of a moderate incline just west of Salt Creek, a tributary of the Scioto River. Archeologists have suggested that its western arm was carved out of the surrounding landscape, as opposed to the traditional approach of "mounding" soil to create a structure. At this time, little is known about who constructed the cross or why; however, its orientation nearly aligns with the cardinal points of north, south, east and west. This site may have been a part of the Great Hopewell Road, a 62-mile pathway that once connected the Great Octagon Earthworks in Newark, Ohio, to either the High Banks Earthworks or the Hopeton Earthworks in in Chillicothe, Ohio. In addition to the cross-shaped earthwork, the park contains a small stone mound and several smaller mounds, possibly of the Hopewell period.

Cross Mound Park also features the Salt Creek Pedestrian Bridge, a picturesque suspension bridge spanning the creek of the same name. The bridge was constructed in 1936 through the Works Progress Administration. The Ohio History Connection transferred the site to the Historical Parks in 1994.