Central Louisiana is a melting pot, where French, Spanish and other European influences mingled with Native American and Caribbean cultures.

Louisiana’s Crossroads region is where the Deep South tones of North Louisiana meet the colonial influences of the state’s southern regions. At its heart is Alexandria, from which highways and back roads navigate past plains where Native Americans once ruled, through forests of majestic pines.
 
A quintessentially Southern beauty marks the countryside here. Those who venture far enough off the beaten path will find wandering waterways and rustic farmhouses, where living off the land is still a way of life. A short drive from Alexandria, visitors can tour Frogmore Cotton Plantation & Gins with its computerized cotton gin and on-site tours of the “old days” – a testament to the possibility of new technology.
 
The region’s rich history and small-town friendliness are constant backdrops for the visitor experience here, as is the region’s diversity of cultures. Native Americans, descendants of the area’s original settlers, share their culture and traditions with travelers. Marksville, located in Avoyelles Parish, is home to one of the earliest Native American civilizations in the country. Today, visitors to the Marksville State Historic Site, located on a bluff overlooking the Old River, can tour the prehistoric ceremonial and burial mounds and visit the Native American Museum. With its roaming buffalo, the Adai Indian Nation Cultural Center near Robeline is worth a stop.
 
Colonial influences made their mark on the land. In Robeline, Los Adaes State Historic Site, site of a Spanish presidio and mission, was the capital of the province of Spanish Texas for 44 years. In Natchitoches, the oldest permanent settlement in the Louisiana Purchase Territory, visitors find architecture similar to New Orleans’ French Quarter, especially along the brick-paved Front Street. The Cane River flows past this main thoroughfare of the city’s Historic Landmark District.
 
Visitors will want to explore the Cane River National Heritage Area, which begins just south of Natchitoches and runs for 35 miles along Cane River Lake. Many historic sites, including Creole-style plantation homes, are open to the public here.
 
Melrose Plantation, located 16 miles south of Natchitoches, tells the remarkable story of a slave woman who gained her freedom and helped her family become one of the wealthiest families of color in the nation at the turn of the 19th century. This is also where nationally recognized primitive artist Clementine Hunter worked as a field hand and cook while painting Cane River life. Other plantations in the region include Kent Plantation House, a former cotton plantation that is Central Louisiana’s oldest standing structure; and Cheneyville’s Loyd Hall LLC, an 1820s home and 640-acre farm.
 
More history beckons outside of the heritage area. The Merryville Historical Society Museum consists of an 1883 log cabin and a museum containing 19th-century items. Visitors interested in agricultural heritage can pick the Cottonport Museum and the Long Leaf’s Southern Forest Heritage Museum as must-sees. Architectural history can be viewed in Leesville, where the Wingate House, built in 1905, has elements of Queen Anne Revival and Colonial Revival styles.
 
After the Louisiana Purchase, Toledo Bend, an outdoor paradise, was once disputed property between Spain and the United States. In the absence of a clearly defined government, bandits and outlaws ruled this “no man’s land.” To view life after the territorial boundary was established, visit Fort Jesup State Historic Site in Many.
 
Turbulent times have come to this region more than once.

During the Civil War, Union troops burned Alexandria; from the ashes came the Victorian architectural style that is prevalent today. In Simmesport, the Yellow Bayou Civil War park maintains the battle’s trenches, and Pineville’s Mt. Olivet Episcopal Church, dating back to 1858 and recently restored, served as Union headquarters. Many years and wars later, Generals Patton, Marshall and Eisenhower mapped out strategies here during the Louisiana Maneuvers, just before World War II.
 
Upriver, Winnfield was made famous by the colorful politics of the Long brothers. The Louisiana Political Museum and Hall of Fame in Winnfield showcases memorabilia from the 1920s and ’30s that calls to mind Huey Long’s campaign theme, “Every Man a King.”
 
For a colorful time of another stripe, you’ll want to visit Hodges Gardens State Park in nearby Florien. The gardens were the inspiration of oil and gas businessman A.J. Hodges, Sr., who took an abandoned quarry and planted a paradise.
 
Campers and hikers will enjoy Kisatchie National Forest, where the Wild Azalea National Recreation Trail can be found. Nearby Kincaid Lake provides a relaxing spot for a picnic and a swim. Another place of note is Indian Creek Lake and Recreation area, with its 2,250-acre lake, recreation facilities and primitive campsites, all located in Alexander State Forest. Toledo Bend, a popular fishing area, is also great for hunting, birding, canoeing and hiking. Golf courses abound in the region, notably including Cypress Bend Golf Resort & Conference Center, near Toledo Bend, and Oak Wing Golf Club in Alexandria. Both are on the Audubon Golf Trail.
 
Big Bend, southeast of Marksville, is where the Sarto Old Iron Bridge can be found. This steel-truss swinging bridge, open to foot traffic only, was built over Bayou des Glaises in 1916.
 
The Louisiana Country Music Hall of Fame in Marthaville is a testament to the Anglo-Scots-Irish settlers who came to the area. Their folk music and instruments are the roots of what country music is today. The museum is located at Rebel State Park, just west of Natchitoches.
 
Each Labor Day, in Natchitoches Parish, the Cane River Zydeco Festival & Poker Run gets visitors’ toes tappin’ and feet stompin’. The festival offers a unique style of music that is indigenous to Louisiana, and features accordions and washboards known as rub-boards or frottoirs. Throughout the year, live entertainment is found on the riverbank in downtown Natchitoches.
 
Fans of famous musicians Jerry Lee Lewis, Mickey Gilley and the late Pee-Wee Whitaker will want to stop in Ferriday, a town just west of the Mississippi state line, where the Delta Music Museum showcases Louisiana’s musical heritage.
 
The area’s culinary heritage consists of rib-stickin’ home cookin’, whether that’s fluffy, buttery biscuits or an alligator jambalaya. The food the area is most famous for, however, is pie – meat pie, that is. These pies consist of a pastry crust, folded in half, stuffed with spicy meat and pine nuts, baked until flaky and brown. Indulge in one (or two!) at Lasyone’s Meat Pie Restaurant in Natchitoches.
 
Lecompte is home to Lea’s Lunchroom, a great little restaurant that’s been serving since 1928. Just a hop off I-49, Lecompte is a perfect pit stop on any road trip. Baked-ham sandwiches started out as the specialty, but their melt-in-your-mouth pie with its tall, fluffy meringue is a feast for the taste buds.
 
More feasting awaits at delicious local festivals. Held in October, the Zwolle Tamale Fiesta pays tribute to the town’s Spanish and Native American ancestors, who worked together to create the country’s best tamale. Alexandria celebrates the hog in March with its Que’in on the Red Festival. It’s Louisiana’s only festival that’s sanctioned by the Memphis Barbecue Network.
 
Stay a while, meet the people, and explore the Crossroads region’s tranquil countryside and friendly small towns.