This geocaching adventure challenges you to visit each of Louisiana's State Parks and Historic Sites. Each State Park and Historic Site has a unique special mission with a story to tell, and offers its own very special geocaching adventure for you to experience. Each of these facilities has an official Geo Project cache, containing a special clue for you to find and record. These clues collectively will enable you to determine the coordinates of the mystery location of the Final Cache, which is located somewhere in the state of Louisiana. Use this Official LAOSP Clue Tracking Sheet to record all your clues.
As you travel our fine state, we encourage you to upload photos of your travels on the geocaching.com web pages. However, we ask that you please do not log clues or spoilers to the caches...they would have to be deleted to keep the game fun for everyone! Do tell us all about your travels and what you liked best about our parks and historic sites. As an extra incentive, and for a limited time, you can earn a Louisiana State Park Geocoin for visiting all of our State Parks and Historic Sites, and finding all the official geocaches placed for your pleasure! Prizes are limited to the supply in hand and will not be replenished.
Before you hunt for your first cache, click this link to read the rules for the Geo Project * Louisiana Office of State Parks. You must follow all the rules, to qualify to win one of these great prizes and collectibles.
This cache was place by the geocachers of Louisiana, on behalf of the Louisiana Office of State Parks. It is designed to bring your attention to these beautiful State Parks and Historic Sites. We ask that you join us by visiting them whenever you get a chance. Our State Park system is a great resource, so remember to "cache in and trash out".
Congratulations to Team Akers FTF!
Marksville State Historic Site
837 Martin Luther King Drive, Marksville, LA 71351
318-253-8954 or 888-253-8954 toll free
Email: marksville@crt.state.la.us
Directions: The site is located in the town of Marksville, southeast of Alexandria. From LA 1, turn onto Preston St. (LA 452) and head northeast, then right onto Martin Luther King Drive. GPS Coordinates: N 31 7.5127, W 92 2.9894.
Hours of Operation: THIS PARK IS CLOSED.
Entrance Fees: Call Forts Randolph & Buhlow for permission to explore the grounds. 318-484-2390 or 877-677-7437 toll free Please call in advance.
The 42-acre Marksville State Historic Site is located on a bluff overlooking the Old River, adjacent to the town of Marksville. Professional archaeologists consider this prehistoric Native American ceremonial center to be of unique national significance.
The Marksville culture, a southeastern variant of the Hopewell culture centered in Ohio and Illinois, was characterized by elaborate mortuary ceremonialism, the construction of conical burial mounds, complex trade networks, decorative pottery, and the importation of certain raw materials. It is also possible that agriculture of a limited nature, such as the horticulture of native plants, had begun by this time.
Although archaeological sites had been recognized throughout this area for many years, it was not until 1926 that the importance of the Marksville site was established. In that year, Gerald Fowke of the Smithsonian Institute conducted the first scientific investigation of the area and produced a detailed map of the Marksville site. In 1933, James A. Ford, an undergraduate student at Louisiana State University, and F. M. Setzler, also of the Smithsonian Institute, uncovered evidence that connected Marksville to the development of the Hopewell culture, which was then known to be based primarily in Ohio.
The main portion of the Marksville site is surrounded by a semi-circular earthwork which is 3,300 feet long and ranges from 3 to 7 feet in height. The open side of the enclosure is the edge of a bluff along Old River. Openings in the earthwork, one in the western side and two in the southern end, suggest that its purpose was ceremonial rather than defensive. This enclosure probably was built to delineate a special area where the dead were buried and formal affairs were conducted. Six mounds of various sizes and shapes are located within the main enclosure, and others are built outside of it.
Marksville State Historic Site was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior in 1964, and thus joined a select group of properties which have since been recognized for their importance in American history.
Your Clues to this Cache...
Placed by rducote...
The site is of archaeological significance due to buried evidence of a Native American culture that flourished approximately 2000 yrs ago.
This site is memorable to me because it once housed a swimming pool and a zoo. As a young boy in the 60’s, we came here at least once a week during the summertime to swim, visit the zoo and run up and down the mounds.
The theme for the cache was Louisiana Forestry but is now a magnetic keyholder. Sound management practices and reforestation by timber businesses in conjunction with the Louisiana Forestry Association has greatly increased timber acreage in Louisiana. Hope you enjoy it and the Marksville State Historic Site.
Remember, this is one of the parks that is actually closed.
However, there is a cache here for you to find.
The cache is located on the perimeter of the site--entering the grounds is neither necessary nor allowed without advanced permission!