Avoyelles Parish, Louisiana

Avoyelles Parish
Parish
Texas and Pacific Railroad Depot (Bunkie, Louisiana)
Flag
Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 31°04′N 92°00′W / 31.07°N 92°W / 31.07; -92
Country	United States
State	Louisiana
Founded	March 31, 1807
Named for	Avoyel Native Americans
Seat	Marksville
Largest city	Marksville
Area
• Total	866 sq mi (2,240 km2)
• Land	832 sq mi (2,150 km2)
• Water	33 sq mi (90 km2)  3.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	39,693
• Density	46/sq mi (18/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	5th
Website	www.avoypj.org

Avoyelles (French: Paroisse des Avoyelles) is a parish located in central eastern Louisiana on the Red River where it effectively becomes the Atchafalaya River and meets the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 39,693.^[1] The parish seat is Marksville.^[2] The parish was created in 1807, with the name deriving from the French name for the historic Avoyel people, one of the local Indian tribes at the time of European encounter.^[3]

Today the parish is the base of the federally recognized Tunica-Biloxi Indian Tribe, who have a reservation there. The tribe has a land-based gambling casino on their reservation. It is located in Marksville, the parish seat, which is partly within reservation land.