Historic Marker Unveiled During 50th Anniversary of Pauline Pusser's Death at Buford Pusser Home and Museum

ADAMSVILLE, Tenn. – The 50^th anniversary of the ambush of Sheriff Buford Pusser and his wife that took the life of Pauline Pusser will be observed with a commemoration 9:30 a.m. Aug. 12 at the Buford Pusser Home and Museum. 

Guests will leave the museum in a funeral procession form at 10 a.m. to follow the same path that Sheriff Pusser and Pauline took that morning to the ambush site for a memorial and unveiling of the historical marker that will be placed there.

Guests will then proceed to the Selmer courthouse for a reception and tour the progress of the renovations to the old jail made by McNairy County Tourism Director, Jessica Huff.

On Aug. 12, 1967, Sheriff Pusser received a disturbance call on the TN/MS Stateline, which was a setup call. Pauline Pusser asked her husband if she could ride along with him. 

At sunrise, as they passed the New Hope United Methodist Church, a car pulled out from behind the church and started shooting a hail of bullets. Pauline was immediately shot in the head but was still alive. Buford thought he’d gotten away and stopped to see about her. That’s when the car came back by and started shooting again. They shot the fatal shot that killed his wife and shot Buford’s chin completely off. His deputy found his jawbone in a field later that day. This event put McNairy County on the map forever.

For more information on Sheriff Pusser’s life and career, visit www.bufordpussermuseum.com.

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