I have often wondered precisely where the exteriors for "Sam Drucker's General Store" and "Hooterville Depot" (just a stone's throw down the rail line from the store) were filmed, where they show the real train rolling past them (not the studio sets).

The exteriors with the real train were, from everything I have read, filmed along the Sierra Railroad, or "Railtown". The P.J. water tank still exists, with a roof over it now, but I have never figured out just where the shots for "Sam Drucker's Store" or the "Hooterville Depot" were taken, and have run into nothing but dead ends. Nobody seems to know. Were they real structures simply dressed up with fake names, or were they nothing more than hollow facades built by the studio next to the rail line?

I don't expect to see any structures still standing this late, even if they were real structures that may have been dressed-up for filming, but it would be cool to see precisely where they would have been.

From everything I have read, they may have been filmed along the Sierra RR line that branches off at the water tank at Jamestown and heads for Sonora, CA. I have looked with "Google Street View" and cannot come up with anything in that area though, as coverage is spotty.

Can anyone solve this mystery???

I've heard and read that the opening title sequences were filmed in Oregon with a real train that ran there. As far as Sam Drucker's store front, I don't know where that was located. Certainly the close-up shots were filmed on a Hollywood sound stage, but as far as the long shots of it, I don't know. In terms of the fictional town of Hooterville, I think it was located in Illinois or Indiana.

Nothing at all connected with Petticoat Juntion was ever filmed in Oregon. The fiberglass mock-up of the Cannonball that was used on the soundstage (not the real train) was on permanent loan from Portland's Hoyt Hotel in a sort of 'promotional consideration' arrangement, hence its mention in the show's credits.

The Hotel had originally planned to put the prop train on the roof to promote its Barbary Coast Lounge. Although old fashioned by 2011 standards, the six-story Hoyt Hotel was about as far from the Shady Rest in appearance as it was in character if this remembrance is any indication:

The men’s room in the bar had a long urinal that could be used for target practice, of a sort: “When hit in the right place with jets of sufficient velocity, bells and sirens sounded, a noisy tribute to the aim and power of the beer drinker responsible.” :lol:

According to this article, the Petticoat Junction company constructed a false front set exterior of Sam Drucker's Store at McCormick. I'm not sure what McCormick means, but maybe it will help.
http://www.petticoat.topcities.com/movierailroads.htm

This Petticoat Junction has a ton of information:
http://petticoat.topcities.com/pj_contents.htm

http://www.petticoat.topcities.com/hooterville_cannonball.htm

McCormick... hmmmm... Will have to do a little research when I have some time and see what I can find out. Thanks Ronny!

Seeing as McCormick does not show up as a town in California (from what I see at least), or even in Oregon, and since the only two exterior filming locations I have ever seen listed for the show have been Jamestown, CA (water tank), and Sonora, CA (rail line branching-off at Jamestown and going to Sonora, through a hilly area with some large curves in the track ~ probably where a piece of the opening credits were filmed), I'm presuming that "McCormick" would stand for the "McCormick Drive" in Sonora, CA. I don't see any rail line next to the road, so I am guessing for the moment that this is a piece of the line that had been abandoned and ripped out some years ago. I may be wrong, but anyway... It's a short little road, with coverage on "Google Street View". I'll give it a look later tonight and see if anything looks familiar.

Well... The north end of McCormick Drive in Sonora looks a little bit interesting, but not enough to convince me that Sam Drucker's store facade and a rail line would have been there. The grade seems too steep and out of whack, for starters...

I have some links showing what I am talking about, but since I'm not allowed to post links until after my 5th post, go to my next post for the links! :-)

The north end of McCormick Drive in Sonora as it appears in "Google Street view":

Google Street View (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Mccormick+Drive,+Sonora,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.997541,-120.387357&spn=0.004675,0.006899&sll=37.996196,-120.386956&sspn=0.003064,0.002484&view=map&ftid=0x8090c67dcac0f7d5:0xc885ca2baa0ad074&ftt=17&geocode=FQTFQwIdIQjT-A&hnear=Mccormick+Dr,+Sonora,+Tuolumne,+California+95370&t=h&z=17&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=37.99745,-120.387441&panoid=gbxz42Hep9OOChTa5NS3qA&cbp=12,7.97,,0,11.2)

No, I'm not convinced this was the spot. I think it was closer to the hilly, curvy area of track between Jamestown and Sonora. Here's a screen grab showing the back of Drucker's Store, with the hills and Hooterville Depot just up the line:

Back view of Drucker's Store (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/836/pjunction4.jpg/)

Here's a link showing a "Google street view", as close to the hills that I could get:

Google Street View (http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Sonora,+CA&hl=en&ll=37.962484,-120.386314&spn=0.001229,0.002747&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=40.052282,56.513672&vpsrc=6&hnear=Sonora,+Tuolumne,+California&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=37.962484,-120.386314&panoid=sikrCb-xPAiaf3nFexOTEw&cbp=12,254.56,,0,2.81)

Here's a clip from an early episode, featuring the storefront at the 5:59 mark, and again at the 9:15 mark (the 9:15 one is a film-flipped view of the store, sort of like looking in a mirror. They were trying to imply that it was the back of the store, when it was really the front in reverse!):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGKoGeKFmT8

That's interesting. Do you know if the b&w exterior shots of Sam Drucker's match the color episodes? I mean, when they had to go back and re-film the exteriors in color, did they choose the same location for Sam Drucker's?

I think it's the same location. In a small number of both b&w and color episodes, you can tell that the depot and store are just a little ways apart. Note my link to the rare color shot where both are actually shown in the same shot.


That's interesting. Do you know if the b&w exterior shots of Sam Drucker's match the color episodes? I mean, when they had to go back and re-film the exteriors in color, did they choose the same location for Sam Drucker's?

According to this article, the Petticoat Junction company constructed a false front set exterior of Sam Drucker's Store at McCormick. I'm not sure what McCormick means, but maybe it will help.
http://www.petticoat.topcities.com/movierailroads.htm

This Petticoat Junction has a ton of information:
http://petticoat.topcities.com/pj_contents.htm

http://www.petticoat.topcities.com/hooterville_cannonball.htm
At the beginning when you see the 3 girls in the water tower and pull down their petticoats, that's just a backdrop, not a real water tower.

That's interesting. Do you know if the b&w exterior shots of Sam Drucker's match the color episodes? I mean, when they had to go back and re-film the exteriors in color, did they choose the same location for Sam Drucker's?

I was just watching a black-and-white episode of Petticoat Junction that shows, to the left of the front of Drucker's store, a downtown Hooterville background (this scene also includes the actor who played Eddie Haskel as a would-be boyfriend of one of the three sisters!) which looks like a painted backdrop.

That's what brought me to this thread... was downtown Hooterville always portrayed as so close to Drucker's? I never got that "feel" from my many years of casual viewings of Petticoat Junction, Beverly Hillbillies and Green Acres..?

At the beginning when you see the 3 girls in the water tower and pull down their petticoats, that's just a backdrop, not a real water tower.
yea, that scene was actually made with 3 or 4 different shots.

(sorry to ruin your fantasy guys:lol: )

I've heard and read that the opening title sequences were filmed in Oregon with a real train that ran there. As far as Sam Drucker's store front, I don't know where that was located. Certainly the close-up shots were filmed on a Hollywood sound stage, but as far as the long shots of it, I don't know. In terms of the fictional town of Hooterville, I think it was located in Illinois or Indiana.

Okay, great, a current thread over on the Beverly Hillbillies forum was asking where Hooterville might be, and if it was in any way near Bugtussle or the other towns mentioned in TBH.

Anyone here know of any mentions as to this question?