Hooterville, shared by Green Acres, Petticoat Junction, and The Beverly Hillbillies
A "small hotel called the Shady Rest" is connected to the town of Hooterville, which is located about 25 miles away, by the Hooterville Cannonball railroad. The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, and Green Acres are three CBS comedies from the 1960s that include scenes from Hooterville. Eva Gabor's Lisa Douglas, who appeared in the latter program, first referred to the town as Hootersville before CBS censors corrected her.
The Sam Drucker-run general store/post office served as a crucial hub for the three performances. The Zip Code for Sam's post office was 40516 1/2. A zip code for the Lexington, Kentucky area is 40516. The Hillbillies and Green Acres episodes that frequently mention Bug Tussle provide another hint. Unbelievably, there is an actual place by that name in Kentucky, not far from the Tennessee state line. There are actually at least three other "Bugtussles" throughout the country.
The evidence strongly suggests that the fictional Hooterville was located in Kentucky, close to the Tennessee border, notwithstanding Granny's claims that she spent her formative years in Tennessee's Great Smoky Mountains. However, additional allusions in the three shows indicate that the village is located somewhere else, such as the Smoky Mountains, the Ozarks, or possibly North Dakota. They traveled to Hooterville whenever they went back to visit.
Therefore, it is generally safe to assume that Hooterville was situated within a 25-mile radius of Eldon, placing it smack dab in the middle of Missouri close to the Lake of the Ozarks. There may seem to be little consensus regarding Hooterville's location. Few places claim to have been the inspiration for it, which is understandable given the relatively strange personalities that populated all three of the episodes in which it appeared.
- Location: Lexington, Kentucky
