Buford Pusser — The Real Walking Tall Sheriff of McNairy County, Tennessee

1937 – 1964

From Finger, Tennessee to the Sheriff's Badge

Buford Hayse Pusser was born December 12, 1937, and raised in the small McNairy County community of Finger, Tennessee. Standing six and a half feet tall, he tried professional wrestling and a stint up north before coming home to the county that would make him a legend.

In 1964, at just 26 years old, Pusser was elected sheriff of McNairy County — one of the youngest sheriffs in Tennessee history. What he inherited was a county line plagued by the State Line Mob: moonshine, gambling, and roadhouses that had operated outside the law for years.

Buford Pusser sheriff badge monument in McNairy County, Tennessee

Historic back roads of McNairy County, Tennessee

1964 – 1970

The Sheriff Who Wouldn't Back Down

As sheriff, Pusser went after the state-line rackets with a single-mindedness that made him enemies most lawmen never face. He was shot, stabbed, and ambushed — and kept coming. The big stick he carried became the symbol of a man who refused to be bought or scared off.

The price was terrible. In an ambush on New Hope Road in August 1967, his wife Pauline was killed at his side, and Pusser himself was gravely wounded. He recovered, finished his term fighting the same fight, and left office in 1970 as a national figure.

On August 21, 1974, Buford Pusser died in a single-car crash on Highway 64, coming home to Adamsville. He was 36.

1973 – Today

Walking Tall: The Legend Goes to Hollywood

The 1973 film Walking Tall turned McNairy County's sheriff into an American folk hero, and the sequels and the 2004 remake carried the story to new generations. Millions of people know the big stick and the story. Far fewer know you can visit the real places.

The real Walking Tall never happened on a backlot. It happened on Highway 45, on New Hope Road, in Selmer and Adamsville — in a county you can drive to, where people still remember the man behind the movies.

Downtown Selmer, Tennessee — county seat of McNairy County

Visit Walking Tall Country

Everything in the Pusser story sits within a few miles of Highway 45 in McNairy County — an easy day trip from Memphis, Jackson, or the Shiloh battlefield.

Buford Pusser Home & Museum

The sheriff's own home at 342 Pusser Street in Adamsville, kept as history remembers it — the most personal lawman's museum in America. Check ahead for current hours.

Museum Website

The Walking Tall Trail

Make a day of it: start at the museum in Adamsville, add Shiloh National Military Park next door, and finish in downtown Selmer's historic district.

See the Itinerary

Stay & Eat Nearby

Adamsville and Selmer have home cooking, BBQ and places to stay — and no trip here is complete without trying a slugburger.

What's a Slugburger?

More to explore: About McNairy County · Visiting Shiloh National Military Park · County History · Events Calendar

Buford Pusser: The Real Walking Tall