The parish has a rich history begun by people of many different descents--French, Spanish, English, Scotch-Irish, German, Italian, and Jewish--coming together in mutual respect and peace, but not without the ups and downs that come with the human condition. The books takes the reader on six tours through Avoyelles, from the towns of Marksville and Cocoville to Lake Pearl and Cottonport, giving the reader a penned as well as pictorial background of life in the parish as well as the culture that still thrives within them. Members of the executive board of La Commission des Avoyelles have combed the sections of their parish to bring forth the written and oral history and every old picture that could be found. Brought together in a masterful collection, the pieces document Avoyelles parish, its beginning, its development, and its present.