The problem everybody’s ignoring: how do you reconcile the Hillbillies’ hometown with Hooterville?
Are you thinking of Hooterville as some sort of real place? Actually it was simply a prop in Lisa Douglas’ elaborate gaslighting of Oliver. When Oliver first mentioned wanting a simpler, more pastoral life, Lisa (who really did want to stay in New York) enlisted Cousin Pearl (in the guise of a kindly hotel-keeper) to find the worst possible piece of farmland in the U.S., and assemble a group of actors to portray the lunatic residents that would slowly drive Oliver insane. Once Oliver was institutionalized, Lisa got his money and Hooterville vanished without a trace.
Alternate universe. TeeVeeLand occupies multitudes of alternate realities. This excuses all continuity “errors” because those realities keep shifting. IOW not to worry. But if it’s a concern, note that Jed Clampett’s fortune could just as easily derived from a diamond mine, though the theme lyrics would have been trickier.
“But then one day he was shootin’ at some food,
When up from the ground did a giant gem extrude.
Diamonds. Zha-Zha’s naval ring. Some for me.”
- [flashes spark off crystal, with ricochets]
When Mr. Drysdale was arrested in Ripley while driving to Bug Tussle in Episode 15 of Season 7, Granny called Mr. Drucker in Hooterville for advice. The residents of Hooterville are known for being very provincial. Mr. Drucker told Granny that Ripley was over in Jasper County and that he knows the judge. Mr. Ziffle and an unnamed Hooterville resident said that they know about the judge’s reptutation. Mr. Drucker then drove Mr. Ziffle’s truck to Ripley. After arriving in Ripley, it is shown that Mr. Drucker and the chief law enforcement officer of Ripley know each other. This strongly suggests that the county Hooterville is in is adjacent to Jasper County. Jasper County is in southwest Missouri. The counties adjacent to Jasper County are Barton County, Missouri; Dade County, Missouri; Barry County, Missouri; Lawrence County, Missouri; Newton County, Missouri; Cherokee County, Kansas; and Crawford County, Kansas. Joplin is in Jasper County.
Yes to all of the questions you asked. Most I would still consider in current use, other than “a hoot and holler from,” which I would say is only used if you’re being deliberately old-fashioned.
I will say I’ve not heard of “dog trot house,” though–which apparently is because they were popular in the Southwest. I do know “over yonder,” though.
As for the other place names that do not exist in the same area as Branson/Eureka Springs/etc., I would tend to assume those were just made-up names added for flavor. Their existence is just another way in which the BH universe is different from ours.
Marriage and migration. In the first crossover episode, Granny described a family tree not even Jed could follow.
The Clampetts outfoxed the city slickers? Hardly. They were almost as clueless in the final episode of the series as they were in the first. They lived in Beverly Hills eleven years and barely learned a thing.
You unlock this door with the key of imagination. Beyond it is another dimension—a dimension of sound, a dimension of sight, a dimension of mind. You’re moving into a land of both shadow and substance, of things and ideas. You’ve just crossed over into … the Hillbilly Zone.
Apparently they lived near both Petticoat Junction and Hooterville, if that helps at all. (Was this already mentioned? I haven’t read the entire thread.)
There is some evidence that suggests Hooterville and Petticoat Junction might be in southwest Missouri or southeast Kansas. However, Granny, Jed, and Jethro did not know where Hooterville and Petticoat Junction were and Granny had to call Mr. Drucker’s general store to get driving directions from California. Unfortunately, they did not get those directions because Uncle Joe thought it was a prank call. So I don’t think we could say Hooterville or Petticoat Junction are “near” Jed’s cabin in northern Arkansas or “near” the Bug Tussle-Ripley Metroplex where the Clampetts lived previously.
Dayum, I love this show too, but I would never have done this deep a dissertation on it.
I bow to you.
“Petticoat Junction” was incorporated? That’s a little racy, even for me.
They’re from the same town as their Friends Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Kimberling City, Missouri.
Jethro gained a lot of professional situations on his resume, all after the move. Some were pretty impressive, including entering the royalty and espionage.
I should clarify. I’m getting this from the first time Flatt & Scruggs visited them. The Clampetts said they knew them from “back home” and for the bluegrass kings, that’s Missouri.
Nickpick: Bruce Botnick.
Yeah, IIRC he was knighted by Elizabeth I (Miss Jane) and served as a double-nought spy. 
When you are ready to go home, do you say that you are fixin to get ready to go home?
Or do you say that you are fixin to go to the house?
People have always taken Jethro for granted. It’s one of the reasons he voted for Jill Stein in 2016, and who can blame him.
Also: He voted for Brexit, through his royal connection. It’s not easy being rural these days, as I say. Who can blame him.
“Fixing to get ready to go” and “fixing to go” means two different things. “Fixing to go” simply means that you will go some time in the near future. “Fixing to get ready to go” means that at some time in the near future you will prepare to go, e.g., find your coat, put your shoes on, etc.
“To go home” and “to go to the house” might also mean two different things. “To go to the house” would almost always mean that you are going to the place where you currently live. “To go home,” under certain circumstances, might mean you are going to your mother’s house, your grandmother’s house, or your hometown.
Here’s an idea. Someone should start a new thread explaining the subtle distinctions between “y’all” and “all y’all.”