Marksville

Marksville is the county seat of Avoyelles Parish in the River Parishes region.

Understand

Marksville, in the heart of former slave-heavy cotton growing country, is notably the place where Solomon Northup made his way to freedom with the help of the townspeople and Northerners after spending 12 years in bondage on Avoyelles Parish plantations, as chronicled in the book and film 12 Years A Slave.

Get in

Marksville is one of those places where you are kind of on your own getting there, as intercity public transport is not much of a reality. The main access way is State Hwy 1 that connects to Alexandria and New Roads.

See

• 1 Tunica Biloxi Regional Indian Center & Museum Complex, 151 Melacon Rd, ☏ +1 318 253 9767. This museum covers the history of the indigenous people of the area, predominant prior to Marc Eliche's establishment of a trading post in 1794 and the inevitable colonization of Europeans and European Americans to follow. In the vicinity of Marksville are burial/ceremonial mounds of native people origin, but, due to funding cuts, they are seldomly open. (updated Aug 2021)
• 2 Hypolite Bordelon Home, 242 Tunica Dr W. M-F 10AM-3PM. Representative Creole settler house from the 1820s. (updated Aug 2021)
• 3 Northup Trail, Edwards Plantation Site, 408 S Main St. Marks the site of the Edwards Plantation, one of the estates where Solomon Northrup was forced into servitude. (updated Aug 2021)

Do

• 1 Paragon Casino Resort, 711 Paragon Pl, ☏ +1 800 946 1946. Arguably the biggest attraction in town, with a casino, buffet and restaurants, attractive pool for hotel guests, and live entertainment from fairly major headliners. It also has a nice swamp diorama complete with gators and Spanish moss-draped cypress trees in its atrium. (updated Aug 2021)

Eat

• 1 Habibi's Lebanese Cuisine, 365 Moreau St Suite A, ☏ +1 318 597 5223. For a bit of a change-up, try some Lebanese food. (updated Aug 2021)

Sleep

The property with the largest array of amenities is likely the Paragon Casino Resort. Also, there's the:

• 1 Hampton Inn & Suites Marksville, 6896 LA-1, ☏ +1 318 253 7576. Outdoor pool and hot tub with views of the casino, in case you want to look at that. $94. (updated Aug 2021)