• What to know if you go

Bill Cissna (ENLARGE)

Tourists can visit the gravesite of Laura Foster, the young woman whose murder led to the hanging of Tom Dula (Dooley).

Bill Cissna (ENLARGE)

The Whippoorwill Academy and Village includes a chapel, old jail, country store, and a replica of Daniel Boone's cabin. Village owner and artist Edith Carter has paintings and drawings of Tom Dula's life.

"Hang down your head, Tom Dooley,

— adapted by Dave Guard from a folk song

Wilkesboro, N.C. — First a mountain tale, then a folk tune, then a No. 1 Billboard hit in 1958 by the Kingston Trio, the story of alleged murderer Tom Dula has echoed through the hills and valleys of Wilkes and Caldwell counties in North Carolina since 1866.

The debate over the guilt of Dula (locally pronounced "Dooley") and the roles of others in what is often said to be the first murder case to truly gain national attention have not faded in 140 years in these parts.

Thanks to a local historian and a local playwright, the Dooley case has been kept in the public eye.

Visitors need only to stop at the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir's Visitor Center to buy a $12 packet that includes a map, written directions and a CD titled "Tom Dooley Historical Tour" and follow its path.

Created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which operates the reservoir, the driving tour is chiefly the brainchild of R.G. Absher, assistant operations manager but also an enthusiast about area history. It's even his band that provides the Appalachian "traveling music" on the CD, both setting the mood and supplying entertainment between tour stops.

Facts and speculation

Starting from a high overlook that is no doubt spectacular during fall leaf season, the tale of Tom Dula unwinds. As a young man prior to the Civil War, Dula grew up, went to school and probably played with the female Fosters — Anne and her cousin, Laura. As he aged, he and Anne were close, though it was widely said that Dula had an eye for the girls. Anne and Dula were believed to be in love, though, when the war intervened and Dula went off to fight — quite honorably, it is said — in various campaigns in Virginia.

By the time he returned in 1865, Anne had married James Melton, a local farmer and cobbler. Her sister Perline (Pauline) had come to live with them. And from here forward, fact is often overrun by speculation.

The facts are that Dula, dismayed by Anne's marriage (though he might have carried on with Anne and perhaps even Perline, anyway), took up with young Laura Foster. She became pregnant and asked Dula for a decision. He agreed to marry her and set a time for them to meet and take off to Tennessee.

Laura was seen on the way to that meeting on May 27, 1866, but not afterward. It was three months later that a rider in the rough hills not far from Dula's cabin found a shallow grave with the remains of Laura Foster.

Both Anne Melton and Tom Dula were jailed on suspicion of Laura's murder. Anne was released; Dula ultimately was hanged for the crime, while maintaining his innocence.

Did Anne kill her rival and involve Dula in the aftermath? Did Dula decide he didn't want to be married and did he kill the pregnant girl? Did Perline, or even Anne's mother, Lotty, play a role in the notorious slaying? Did Dula allow himself to be hanged to protect his real love?

These questions and more caused perhaps the first national-media murder trial coverage and the speculation that continues today. That's part of the fun of following the trail: As the narrator on the CD says on several occasions, "You be the investigator."

The trail winds through the hills and valleys near Reedy Branch Creek and the Yadkin River, from the site of the Cowles Store in the town of Elkville (now called Ferguson) past the homesites of Lotty Foster, the Meltons and Dula; from the place where the Whippoorwill Academy has been relocated, to the sad loneliness of Laura Foster's grave site. The Cowles Store was at the center of the town of Elkville in 1866, and the autopsy on Laura Foster was conducted in a home across the road from it.

Artifacts from case

Perhaps the most interesting site on the trip is the Whippoorwill Academy and Village, where another history enthusiast started simple by moving and preserving the academy building from a nearby property. Though the academy was built and first used about 20 years after Dula was hanged, it's a school much like the one that Dula, Anne and Laura would have attended.

Now, 11 buildings are on the site, including a chapel, an old jail, a country store, and a replica of Daniel Boone's cabin from a few miles away. You'll find some artifacts from the Dula case, plus books and postcards for sale about the tale.

If possible, consider starting your tour around 1 p.m. on a Saturday or Sunday at the reservoir's Visitor Assistance Center. Whippoorwill Village is open (except by appointment) from 3-5 p.m. those two afternoons. If you can chat for a few moments with owner Edith Carter, you won't want to miss this stop on the trail. A number of paintings and drawings of the life of Dula are at the site, and Carter is the artist.

Visitors also might want to take in a summertime staging of the murder story. For seven years now, "Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend," written and directed by local playwright Karen Wheeling Reynolds, has presented Reynolds' deeply researched version of the facts and myths. In 2007, all of the shows will be presented at a new outdoor amphitheater at Fort Hamby.

The tale of Tom Dula may lie 140 years in the past. But its questions, and its passions, will likely live on for more years to come in Wilkes County.

IF YOU GO

Getting there

Driving: From downtown Atlanta, take I-85 North through Georgia and South Carolina to the Charlotte area. At Charlotte, take I-77 North, cross I-40 at Statesville, and continue north on I-77 another 20 miles, then exit onto U.S. 421 West. At Wilkesboro, exit on N.C. 268 West (signs for "W. Kerr Scott Dam & Reservoir"). About 2.5 miles west on 268, turn right at signs for the reservoir's Visitor Assistance Center.

Flying: Although Greensboro is an option, Charlotte will likely have the best selection of flights from Atlanta, including Delta and US Airways options. From the airport, drive north on Billy Graham Parkway to I-85 north, then follow driving directions above.

Where to stay

Hampton Inn, 1300 Collegiate Drive, Wilkesboro, NC 28697; 336-838-5000; www.hamptoninnwilkesboro.com.

Holiday Inn Express, 1700 Winkler St., Wilkesboro, NC 28697; 336-838-1800; www.ichotelsgroup.com.

Gray Stone Manor Bed & Breakfast, Wilkesboro; 336-667-7282; www.graystonemanorbandb.com.

Camping at three campgrounds around the W. Kerr Scott Reservoir; many campsites can be reserved by visiting www.reserveusa.com or calling 1-877-444-6777.

Information

The Tom Dooley Historical Tour packets, which include a CD, area map and written instructions, can be purchased at the Reservoir Visitor Assistance Center for $12, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. www.saw.usace.army.mil/wkscott/index.htm; 336-921-3390.

"Tom Dooley: A Wilkes County Legend" is performed each summer by the Wilkes Playmakers, www.wilkesplaymakers

.com. In 2007, all performances will be at the Fort Hamby Amphitheater. For general visitor information, visit www.explorewilkes.com.