Ferguson, North Carolina: Graves of Tom "Dooley" Dula and Victim Laura Foster

Couldn't find any signs or marker, 1 1/2 miles from the metal sign, indicating the grave. The Whippoorwill museum nearby is always closed when I'm in the area.

Actually I grew up not 15 miles from where this murder took place, in fact my great-great grandmother's home was searched when they began looking for Dooley. The grave is not by the tree where he was hanged, although locals will tell you it is. Dooley was hanged in Statesville; the area he is buried is actually an old, homemade cemetery, however no other graves are marked. The road has been closed to the public because many have desecrated the tombstone by chipping pieces off. The community of Ferguson is nothing more than some houses and a couple of stores on the outskirts of Wilkesboro.

We took NC Route 268 from Patterson, to Moravian Falls, almost on NC 421. We were going to stop at Fort Defiance, a Revolutionary War outpost, but it was closed.

On up the road, we saw a historical marker indicating Laura Foster's grave site, the girl supposedly killed by Tom Dooley. His name was actually Tom Dula, by the way.

On up 268 several miles was a NC Historical Marker, one of the cast iron, silver & black kind, marking Tom Dula's grave! I'd just finished taking my pics when one of the locals stopped and said, " youall lookin' for Tom Dooley?" I admitted it and he said, "come on, I'll show ya! He's just down the road a piece, right by the tree where he 'as hung." He showed us and added, "This here is Tom Dula Road, but the State won't put up no mo signs, they keep gittin' stole!" Then he clattered off down the in a cloud of oil smoke.

About a hundred yards along the path past the posted signs, we came to the grave site in a small clearing. There are two markers and they disagree as to date. The local also told me that ol' Tom didn't do it. Tom was quite a stud and Laura was done in by one of his jilted girlfriends.

State records of the period show that he was actually hanged about 50 miles away in Statesville, or maybe 10 miles away in Wilkesboro, you choose. The "tree" looks good in the picture, though.

I didn't know folksong subject "Tom Dooley" was real. Apparently 'ol Tom Dula was convicted of stabbing his girlfriend to death back in 1868. Although he never confessed to the crime he was hanged all the same.

The events inspired the folksong "Tom Dooley" (Hang down your head Tom Dooley, hang down your head and cry. Killed poor Laura Foster, now you're going to die.)