This sign was at one of the places we stopped along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I don't ever remember seeing it on any of our other trips.
But, good ole Tom had another lover by the name of Anne Melton. Many people thought Anne was the one that committed the murder out of jealousy for Laura Foster, but Dula's word acquitted her in a separate trial. Most people thought he confessed in order to protect Anne.
The crime and the trial received national publicity, and a local poet wrote the song about the tragedy. The ballad was first sung soon after the hanging, and it is still a well-known lyric in North Carolina.
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