The Clampetts were from the OZARKS. They must have been close to the Oklahoma border. Many references are made to the OK Oil company folk from nearby Tulsa. (known for it’s oil)
Granny is not a Clampett. She is a Moses. From across the river. (The MISSISSIPPI). Jethro isn’t a Clampett either. He is a bodine.
Pearl is Jed’s cousin. So Jethro is actually Jed’s first cousin once removed. Jethro and Ellie are second cousins.
Hooterville is home to Petticoat Junction and Green Acres. In the establishing episode of G.A. it is said Hootervilled is about 300 miles from Chicago. However it doesn’t snow in Hooterville. It is warm at Christmas.
The Beverly Hillbillies state that you can get from Beverly Hills to Hooterville by driving all night. Thus it can’t really exist. You can’t drive from Calif to anywhere near a three hundred mile radius from Chicago in 24 hours.
Sam Druker, Kate Bradley and Oliver make references to going to the County Seat. Pixley is the town, while Hooterville is a mere sprig of a village. The Shady Rest is on the outskirts of the village. In fact you take the Cannonball Train from The Shady Rest to Drukers. Oliver states the little train runs all over the valley. The Hooterville Valley. So it may describe a geographical area as well.
In one episode of G.A. we find Oliver’s house is in Hooterville, his barn in Pixley but the farm in Crabwell Corners. We also find Oilver traveling north to the state capitol for over 300 miles.
“Are there still places like that in America? I was thinking of moving to upstate NY or NH in search of that kind of life. Livin’ in Delaware is getting tedious.”
There was a “Twilight Zone” episode (IIRC) that involved a harried Manhattan executive who saw an idyllic little town from his commuter train every day. He looked forward to seeing it on his commute because it seemed so peaceful and calm to him. Near the end of the episode, the man suddenly decided as the train stopped in the town to get off the train and live there, giving up his past life.
The “Twilight Zone” twist was that he indeed gave up his past life: he ended up stepping off the hurtling commuter train nowhere near a station, much less a town! (On the old 19th-Century open-vestibule cars that were used back then in commuter service, you could do that.) There was in fact no such town; it was a figment of his imagination. [Rod Serling voice] A station listed not in any employee or passenger timetable, nor on any list of tariffs, but only in the schedule of … the Twilight Zone. [end Rod Serling voice]
To add to what Cyn said, you can see the Pixley watertower for yourself by driving up Highway 99 in California’s central valley. It is about 1/2 the way between Bakersfield and Visalia. Nowadays there is a microwave dish on the tower that kind of ruins the effect, though.
I always assumed that the series’ were set in the central Valley because of Pixley and since all the backgrounds showed very flat country, just like that part of CA.
