"Discover Avoyelles" series will spotlight area attractions

    “There’s nothing to do here.”

    The age-old complaint of children as summer enters its second month is certainly not music to parents’ ears. However, there is a response.

    For those wondering what there is to do in Avoyelles, the first thing that comes to mind is Paragon Casino Resort. Paragon, owned and operated by the Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Marksville, is the parish’s largest employer and by far the parish’s most popular tourist attraction.

For young children, the casino has Kids Quest available, which has a per-hour charge to care for the children while the parents enjoy some free time. There is an arcade for the older children.

     The alligator show is free on Saturdays, but the stars of the show are on display 24/7 in the atrium, which depicts a bayou scene with ‘gators and fish for visitors’ viewing pleasure.

    As your high school history teacher probably quipped, “Those who fail to learn their history are doomed to repeat it.”

    History is something with which Avoyelles is richly blessed.We are fortunate to have many historical sites open to the public and still others at least designated with interpretive markers to tell visitors a little more of the Avoyelles story.

    This series of articles entitled  “Discover Avoyelles” is intended to provide in-parish and out-of-parish residents information on “things to do” in Avoyelles this summer -- or even other seasons of the  year.

    Our first article in the series highlighted the Bunkie Depot. Our next article in the series will be the Hypolite Bordelon House museum. 

    Other Avoyelles Parish museums with at least some visiting hours will be featured in later installments -- including  DesFossé Home in Mansura, Cottonport Museum, Adam Ponthieu Store/Big Bend Post Office and Old Sarto Bridge, Louisiana 4-H Museum and Tunica-Biloxi Museum.

    Some attractions which are not in the series are included in this overview.

 

    Avoyelles is centrally located, so it is an easy day’s drive from almost anywhere in the state. It has been dubbed the “Cajun Crossroads of Louisiana” or the “Gateway to Acadiana.” It is the parish where the French-speaking South meets the English-speaking North.

    The Marksville Prehistoric Park & Museum is still open five days a week, despite the state’s budget axe hanging over its head. At this time, employees of Chicot State Park man the museum and park for two days a week and employees from Fort Randolph/Buhlow Historic Site are there for three days a week.

    The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe has offered to operate the historic site. Details between the tribe and state are being worked out with hopes that the transfer will be completed before the summer ends. The Marksville site is archaeologically significant. An entire era of prehistoric Indian culture is called “Marksville” as a result. It is the only National Historic Landmark in the parish.

    The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe operates a museum focusing on the history of the Tunica and the Biloxi tribes and featuring numerous artifacts of native-made and European trade goods that were taken from a Tunica burial site many years ago. The so-called “Tunica Treasure” was one of the most significant discoveries of mid-17th Century European goods found in the Southeast and confirmed the Tunicas’ important role in  commerce along the southern Mississippi River.

 

    As noted in a previous series, Avoyelles is home to over 20,000 acres of lakes, bayous and rivers and is one of the state’s prime hunting and fishing destinations. There are three state wildlife management areas and two national wildlife refuges here.

    If you prefer to shoot nature with a camera instead of a gun, the parish has two noted nature trails to entice the wildlife shutterbug in you. 

    The Marc Dupuy Wildlife Walking Trail, on the Grand Cote National Wildlife Refuge in Fifth Ward, is a half-mile of beautiful scenery with interpretive kiosks. There is also an observation deck with telescopes -- perfect for bird watching. If you get the feeling that the wildlife is watching you rather  than the other way around, you may be right. It is a good way to go a short distance to get away from the rush of modern life.

    In between the casino and the cultural/education center in Marksville is the 1-mile Tunica-Biloxi Nature Trail, which includes crossing points over the Coulee Des Grues waterway -- the historic boundary between the Tunicas and the Biloxis.

    The Grand Cote NWR also features talks, lectures on wildlife management and conservation and includes outdoor classrooms. Restroom facilities are located at the site. 

 

     There are a few historical homes around the parish, but two are open to the public -- the Hypolite Bordelon House in Marksville, built between 1790-1820 and the DesFosse House in Mansura, built around 1790. DesFosse House is only open on Fridays, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and by appointment. Hypolite Bordelon House is open six days a week. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places.

     You may think that Avoyelles does not have a zoo. Well, it does -- technically. WesMar Goat Farms in Moreauville (which was also featured in the newspaper recently) is famous for its dairy goats and related products. It is also, technically, a zoo and is so certified with the state. There is a $6 per person fee for a tour of the farm.

    Besides the two larger museums on the current Indian reservation and prehistoric Indian site, there are smaller museums to give visitors a short and educational outing.

   The Adam Ponthieu Grocery Store/Big Bend Post Office Museum lets guests look into the past at the Avoyelles of the 1900-1950 era. The Sarto Iron Bridge over Bayou des Glaises is located across La. Hwy 451. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places.

   The Cottonport Museum & Cultural Center focuses on a time when “Cotton was king.”  

 

    Summer is also a season of festivals. Several have already passed -- Cochon de Lait in Mansura, Tunica-Biloxi Pow Wow in Marksville, Cajun Crossroads in Hessmer, Corn Festival in Bunkie, Zydeco & Blues in Cottonport and Family & Friends Day in Mansura. The Farm Festival in Moreauville was not held this year, but will return to the summer festival schedule next year.

    The next festival is the Avoyelles Arts & Music Festival and Marksville Independence Day Parade & Fireworks on July 4. The two events are technically separate, but for all intents and purposes combine to make Marksville THE  place to be to celebrate America’s birthday in Louisiana.

     The parade is the longest-running Fourth of July celebration in the state, starting in 1951.

     Cottonport has the Christmas Festival in December. The Cottonport Museum also hosts the Quilt Festival in October. There are Easter egg-knocking and hunting events in Marksville, Cottonport and Ward 1 each spring. The Lagniappe Festival is held in Mansura in early to mid-April. 

 

   If you want to go on a walking tour of historical markers, there are many in Marksville and several scattered around the parish.

   If a driving tour is more your thing -- especially during a Louisiana summer -- the Northup Trail sites throughout Avoyelles and Rapides parishes allow the visitor to follow the significant life events of Solomon Northup, a free black man from New York who was kidnapped and sold into slavery in Avoyelles Parish. 

    His autobiography, 12 Years a Slave, was the basis of the recent movie by that name, which won the Oscar for Best Motion Picture in 2014.

    This preview does not include everything of interest in the parish. The series may even miss some interesting sites -- but if we do, we’re sure their story will be told soon.