1927 Deputy Ambushed

Philadelphia, Mississippi

John Meyers, a Neshoba County Special Deputy Sheriff, was driving into town on October 7, 1927, when he was shot dead from the roadside by Virgil Dunn, who had been waiting in ambush. Dunn was a moonshiner and escaped convict who'd been sent to prison thanks to Meyers' testimony. Passers-by heard the gunshots, saw Meyers' car swerve off the road, and brought his body into town. Dunn was then caught, pled guilty, thrown back into prison, and shot dead by guards in early 1929.

Meyers' descendants asked that a memorial be erected to him in the city; when the city refused, they erected one at the ambush site in 2017.

1927 Deputy Ambushed

Burnside County Park

Address:: Rd 2812, Philadelphia, MS
Directions:: Burnside State Park. From Philadelphia drive north 6.5 miles on MS-15. Turn left (west) onto Rd 2812 into Burnside State Park. The historical marker will be on the left, near the playground equipment.

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