Location
Hooterville was based on the Mid-Missouri town of Eldon, Missouri, where Paul Henning's wife Ruth grew up, although the exact location in the show was never stated. In numerous episodes, it was said that they were close to Chicago; in one Green Acres episode, Mr. Haney said Chicago was 300 miles (480 km) away. Another time it was said a nearby town was called Springfield, which is also the name of the capital city of Illinois, as well as a city in southwest Missouri. Hooterville may also have been in the Ozarks. One of the working titles for Petticoat Junction had been Ozark Widow (another had been Whistle Stop).
The cast of another CBS show, The Beverly Hillbillies, had some connection with the characters in Petticoat Junction, when Cousin Pearl contacted Granny to assist with Betty Jo Bradley's baby; the Clampetts themselves hailed from Bug Tussle. The name "Hooterville" is actually first used in episode No. 6 of The Beverly Hillbillies by supporting character Jasper "Jazzbo" Depew (Phil Gordon).
Sam Drucker, the grocer and postmaster, gives the Zip code for Hooterville as 40516½. 40516 is a Zip code for Lexington, Kentucky, a city 375 miles (604 km) from Chicago. Also, Lexington, Kentucky is exactly 55 miles (89 km) from Springfield, Kentucky which further agrees with the theory of Hooterville being a rural suburb of Lexington (see above correlation regarding a town called Springfield). The Simpsons, Guiding Light, Father Knows Best and G.I. Joe have all made locales out of the ambiguity of the location of a town named Springfield. The name approximates Hooverville - a term used for shantytowns and camptowns that emerged during the Great Depression - but it is also the name of a bucolic town on railroad tracks in western Pennsylvania.. One episode has an investigator from the New York District Attorney at the Douglas farm trying to find an uncle of Lisa Douglas who was running from paying alimony, implying that "Green Acres" is in rural New York state outside of New York City. However, Hank Kimball indicated in the second season episode "The Vulgar Ring Story" that he was on his lunch break at 10:00 AM, to coincide with Washington's lunch break, and since the official U.S. government lunch hour was 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM, Green Acres would have to be in Central Time, coinciding with the Midwest.
Based on character comments in the third season of Green Acres, Hooterville is not in Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, or Indiana. Each of these places is referred to by characters as being somewhere else.
The license plates used on vehicles in Green Acres are in the style of 1963-68 California plates, with the word "California" obscured. The radio announcer in the second season episode "An Old Fashioned Christmas" noted that the temperature in Pixley was 81 degrees, which would be consistent with the warm weather that California often has, at the same time that the temperature in Chicago was -2 degrees and in Schenectady was 1 degree. Further, "Greenacres" and "Pixley" are place names in the San Joaquin Valley of California.
According to the logic of the script, Hooterville may be fairly close to New York City, as characters such as Oliver Wendell Douglas, a former New York City lawyer, and his wife Lisa's mother make trips to and from New York on an occasional basis and appear to make a round trip in a day's time.
According to "Dave Stein's Official Petticoat Junction Site" (http://petticoat.topcities.com/page1.htm), the inspiration for Hooterville came from Paul Henning's wife, Ruth. As a child, Ruth traveled by train to her grandparents' hotel in Eldon, Missouri. Eldon, Missouri is right at 300 miles (480 km), as the crow files, from Chicago. Other than distance and a hotel near the railroad tracks, though, there is little resemblance between Hooterville and Eldon, Missouri.
Exteriors for the twin Hooterville series were shot by Filmways near Jamestown/Sonora, California, a decidedly rural area.
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