I know the town that Leave it to Beaver was from is Mayfield. However I was wondering what state this show was supposed to have taken place in?

Originally posted by Karnage:
I know the town that leave it to beaver was from is Mayfeild. However I was wondering what state this show was supposed to have taken place in?

wisconsin. there are several clues. Madison and Monroe are often mentioned; the W on the pennant in the boys bedroom; crystal falls is in the Michigan penninsula;there is a suburb of milwaukee called mayfield.

In the episode where they built the eskimo boat, Ward states the ocean is twenty miles away, that would put it on the east or west coast. Since beaver wore his coat a lot it would put it on the north east or north west coast. The letter could have stood for any town. Mayfield represents no known town.

I think it could be in Ohio.I live in Ohio- and in fact close to Mayfield Heights,Ohio. For years I lived in Shaker Heights,where Ward said he grew up.Whenever I drive down one street in Mayfield Heights,and drive past Mayfield High School,I always remember Wally Cleaver and whistle the Beaver theme to myself.

It was Ohio. Euclid Avenue. The Ohio State pennant on Eddie Haskell's bedroom wall. Gotta be Ohio.

It was filmed in California but I think The Cleavers lived in Ohio I am pretty sure and how I think so is becuase Larry Mondello's father is always in Cincinatti. Its just a guess I have.

I mean the show was filmed in California but the characters of the show The Cleavers probably lived in Mayfield, Ohio.

Every time I watch the show I can't help but think Ohio is where it took place. The Cleveland suburbs and Cincinnati (where Larry Mondello's father always was) have always gotten mention. In one episode a girl named Allison moves into Beaver's school, and she said she was from Hamilton, some 30 miles north of Cincinnati.

Then in one episode Wally and his friends mentioned Route 7, which exists in eastern Ohio from Conneaut to Chesapeake (north of Huntington, WV).

How could the location be Ohio as Ward mentioned the ocean being close to their home?

In the book The world according to Beaver the author stated that the writers made the location of Mayfield a secret , possibly so this conversation could go on for years.

I wonder if one of the head writers,either Mosher or Connelly,was an Ohioan.That would explain many references.

Well, I think we can go around and around in circles discussing this topic. I guess its been one of those strange mysteries about the show that has existed since it went off the air. This and what actually Ward's occupation was. Personally, I think the show was based in Ohio, but who really knows.

At the beginning of the later episodes, each of the family members run out the front door and get into the car (Ward is carrying a thermos, Wally a beach towel). However, there is no state on the car's rear license plate which is shown very clearly! The episode where Wally gets roped into taking the Beav and his friends camping, it seems there were mountains shown (painted) in the background and Eddy falls off of a clift/ledge. Are there mountains along route 7 in western Ohio? Does anyone remember the name of the lake that they went to?

You have to remember that the show was taped in California, so the mountains that you see in some of the later episodes are the ones near Los Angeles. I can't remember the name of those mountains right now, but there's a chain that runs close to LA

The Lake that they most often visit is called Friend's Lake, and I know they visit Crystal Falls early on. I think that's a lake on the show, too.

Leave It To Beaver: Where is Mayfield???
I would have to guess strongly that the town of Mayfield is located in the Buckeye State of OHIO! Let's face it! Leave It To Beaver has a strong mid-west flavor to it! Moreover, Larry Mondello's father is constantly going to Cincinnati all the tyme! As for the camping trip that Beaver & Wally and friends went on, I remember taking a trip to some wooded hills just south of Columbus, the State Capital of the Buckeye State! So that's my guess! Call it Mayfield, Ohio, USA! By the way, that's a very pretty dress you're wearing, Mrs. Cleaver!

As I was watching one of my tapes of the show that I recorded during the marathon weekend, I noticed that in the episode VooDoo Magic, in Eddie Haskell's room was an Ohio State Pennant tacked up on his wall. This is the scene where Beaver visits Eddie, who is faking to be sick in bed, to see how he is and to bring him flowers. Who knows, maybe this is just a coincidence. Anybody else notice this before?

There actually is quite a bit of evidence that the show had Ohio in mind...a very white small town or suburb with middle class and middle American values. Eddie has the OSU pennant in his room, Larry's dad is usually on business in Cincinnati, and Larry says his brother lives in Cincinnati; there actually is a Mayfield and a Shaker Heights near each other in OH.

Sometimes it seems the reason Ward makes the comment that they live 20 miles from the ocean is to deflect too much evidence that they were locating Mayfield in a particular state after all. [No one calls Lake Erie an "ocean," do they?]

I know how silly it can be to try to sort the info and come to a conclusion which is only fictional to begin with; however, the process of elimination shows that Mayfield is:

Not near Cincinnati-- it (Cin.) is referred to as being elsewhere and far enough away for overnight stay.
Not near Los Angeles-- it was a 'long way' from there, said Don Drysdale.
Not on the east coast-- although it may take someone like Aunt Martha to say the Cleaver home "is such an eastern-looking home so far west."
North of Texas-- Wally says "they've got it all [oil] down in Texas."
Not near Washington, DC-- Miss Landers at first took it seriously when Beaver lied and said his dad was "flying to Washington to see the president." [I suppose east coast would include that one anyway]
Not near St. Louis, since Ward had to fly there and stay for a few days on business.

Less definite clues:
Sometimes mountains are shown as being close, but no arid or desert terrain; so not likely AZ, NM, UT, or NV.
No one talks with a southern, an Appalachian, or (except Aunt Martha, a visitor) a New England/NE accent.
Farms are sometimes seen or inferred, but agriculture does not seem to be an important industry to the town; at least not as if it were a small town in Iowa or Nebraska.

The weather implications [jackets and coats] mean nothing except that Mayfield is not in a place which is warm or dry year around, although snow is never seen.

So-- excepting for Ward's "twenty miles from the ocean" citation-- we seem to be given that the location is somewhere within a triangle of Ohio, Illinois, and Wisconsin. Or else-- perhaps *with* the '20 miles from the ocean' quote valid-- in the northwest; Oregon or Washington state.



[This message has been edited by tdr (edited 06-25-2001).]

Earlier post have mention that the Cleaver's live in Skaker Heights, USA.
Some have thought that this town may be in the state of Ohio.

In the episode of "Nobody Loves Me", Richard is waiting at bus stop bench
and Beaver appears and ask Richard what he was doing. Richard replies
that he waiting to see a New Jersey license plate before he goes home.
It's some sort of game Richard created so he doesn't have to go home so
early. Beaver's catches on to his little game and spots a car license plate
from Pennsylvania and ask Richard if that's close enough. Richard, declines
but soon after that, a car with a New Jersey license plate comes by and Richard
leaves for home.

Point in case is, that if there are cars with Pennsylvania and New Jersey
plates driving around where the Cleaver's live, wouldn't it be a little unlikely
to think they live in Ohio?

Your comments are welcome to the Mystery State were the Cleaver's live
in Shaker Heights, USA.

CORY

:confused: :confused: :confused:

It's been disclosed that the Cleaver's live in Shaker Heights, USA.
Some earlier post have eluded that this is a city or suburb in the
state of Ohio.

In the episode, "Nobody Love's Me", we find that Richard is sitting
on a bus bench waiting and Beaver appears. Beaver asks Richard
what he was doing and Richard says, he is waiting for a car to pass
by with a New Jersey license plate on it. Apparently, Richard doesn't
want to go home too early and Beaver figures out this is Richard's little game.
Suddenly, Beaver sees a car with a Pennsylvania plate on it and ask
Richard if that's close enough. Richard declines but moments later
a car with a New Jersey plates passes by and Richard leaves to go
home.

Point in case, since hearing evidence of cars with Pennsylvania and
New Jersey plates are driving around this area, doesn't this set a
pretense that the Cleaver's don't live in Ohio?

You comments are welcome to help solve what state do
the Cleaver's live in.

Cory:confused:

The only thing that's certain is that they live in the town of Mayfield. There is a Mayfield in several states, including Ohio. Every now and then, they'll give a clue that it's Ohio, such as a reference to Ward growing up in Shaker Heights or someone living on the other side of Euclid Avenue, both of which are in the vicinity of Cleveland. But they also give hints that would tend to rule out Ohio. As someone once posted here, the truth is probably that Mayfield is everywhere and nowhere. It's the same sort of mystery as Ward's profession.

I personally think it's kinda cool how they leave all that stuff up to the viewers imagination. In a way, it makes the show relate more to the viewers since Mayfield could be just about anywhere they wanted it to be.

I'm a little baffled, do the Cleaver's live in Shaker Heights or Mayfield.
I know that Wally attends Mayfield High but I was under the impression
that they live in Shaker Heights, a suburb or Cleaveland. Then again,
maybe not.

Besides the information about Richard and Beaver sighting car license
plates from New Jersey and Pennsylvania, I remember June mentioning
they the boys have gone to the BEACH before????? What beach?
Does that mean they are near a big body of water. I know when
I live in Chicago, they refer to the beach meaning Lake Michigan.


Cory:confused: :confused:

Originally posted by eyefocus
I'm a little baffled, do the Cleaver's live in Shaker Heights or Mayfield.
I know that Wally attends Mayfield High but I was under the impression
that they live in Shaker Heights, a suburb or Cleaveland. Then again,
maybe not.

Cory:confused: :confused:


The cleavers do not live in Shaker Heights...They live in Mayfield. Ward grew up in Shaker Heights. In the episode "Most Interesting Character" Beaver says Ward grew up "right here in this town" in his composition. The best I can make of it is that Shaker Heights is like a small farm community outside of Mayfield or something like that.

We do know that Ward grew up on a farm, but Shaker Heights, Ohio is an affluent suburb of Cleveland. I know because I went to college in Cleveland Heights.

I posted earlier about Richard and Beaver sighting car licenses from
New Jersey and Pennsylvania and I was trying to established what
state the Cleaver's live in.

I also stated there is mention of the boys going to the beach. Where
is the beach near where the Cleaver's live?

In the episode "Eddie Quits School", Eddies gets a job at Tompson
gas station. Eddies buys Mr. Tompson's convertible and can't find anyone to
take for a ride. He even ask Beaver if he want to go to the "BEACH".

Also in the episode, the principal (Mr. Farmer) of Mayfield High stops by
to sugguest to Eddie to come back to school, while he
is getting gas. Eddies doesn't realize that the gas is
over flowing the tank and when he goes back to attend
to the over flowing gas we see a "blank license plate" covering the gas cap.
It reads OSK 623 with no state or year on the plate. One
more time, eluding to the fact that Mayfield is everywhere and nowhere
in the USA.

So where is the "beach" and what's up the blank license plate.

Cory:wave: :confused: :confused:

Does anyone have any indication of what state Mayfield is in?

well the state of mayfield was always keep a secert which im my opinion it is in Califorina becuase they talk about going to the beach and CA would be the most logical choice to but the Cleavers

I don't think it could be California because in the ep where Beaver doesn't think he is going to graduate June says something like "Aunt Martha is flying all the way out from California" Which gave me the indication that California was far away from where they lived.
This was another incosistency in the show because in the earlier eps where the boys would go visit Aunt Martha she lived in Bellport which was only a few hours away.

It wasnt ever mentioned, but I think somewhere in Ohio seems to make sense. :confused: :confused:

There are many hints, that it's in the vicinity of Cleveland. But there are also clues which contradict Ohio. It is clear that the writers left this deliberately vague.

I think it is impossible to pinpoint. They go to the beach, so it should be coastal. Aunt Martha remarks at some point that it is surprising to see such an eastern looking house so far out west. The boys make a very expensive long-distance call to Los Angelas. Beaver owns a surf board (can't use that at Friend's Lake!).

look for a post about 10 posts down called "filming location?" and you'll see a longer discussion on this.

njf

ps...ohio makes the most sense.

Did anyone watch the Super Bowl? If you have you probably noticed a march madness commercial with Samuel L. Jackson sitting at a bar watching one of the college basketball games on tv. He said something about friends lake and mentioned the state it was in. I remember friends lake was on leave it to beaver where the family would go on vacation sometimes. Does anyone remmeber the state Samuel said? Or it could be soemthing that sounded like friends lake but it isnt? Can anyone help me out?

I was too busy calling the FCC to complain about what was on my screen. :)

I thought we had just about decided it was in Ohio.

Actually, if the writers never had it mentioned in the show, I guess it was nowhere and everywhere.

Some people have said they believe the writers didn't want to narrow it down too much, it is nice to believe it could be in YOUR state also!

I believe he said French Lick, Indiana, which is a small town in southern Indiana.

It has certainly never been decided to my satisfaction anyway that it is in Ohio. There are just as many things pointing to the Pacific Borthwest!

I've decided that it is Oregon.

I think Mayfield can be anywhere you want it to be. Because of chance comments and locations it appears to be in Ohio. But since you never saw snow on Leave it to Beaver that pretty much washes up that idea. But the same can be said for Oregon. Because from my understanding Oregon gets an awful lot of rain throughout the year and rain was another thing you saw very rarely on Leave it to Beaver. I think Mayfield was meant to be the perfect All-American town that everyone wished they lived in.

Yeah, you're right on that one, but it's still fun to conjecture where they might have lived. The writers obviously wanted it to be Anytown, USA, which is why they were careful about not revealing any specific geographical locations.

I would say California. It never snowed and I think they mentioned going surfing in a couple of episodes.

In the episode where Eddie wanted to go on the fishing boat to Alaska, he referred to Dana Point as "a point in California." If they were in CA I don't think it would have been referred to this way.

Also CA isn't the only place where people surf. They even do it sometimes on the Great Lakes in late summer!

I was sworn to keep this secret, but I guess I can post if here.....it was actually in the Tampa Bay Area....no snow, great swimming, surfing, perfect weather. They just didn't want to mention it in the show, as everyone would come running down here, and Florida would not have enough room for all the people.

I know this is an old thread but I came up with a location that fits all the criteria first of all there is Rt 7 which is a road in Maryland on the north east side of Baltimore In Baltimore County and Harford counties. The Location of the Baltimore suburbs was about 20 min from the ocean in the 50's and 60's, now the traffic is worse of course... That being said, in the episode "Beavers secret life" Wally refers to the Colts football team which at the time was the Baltimore Colts.

We all know that it was filmed in California, so the mountains in the background of some of the scenes could be expected. On occasion mistakes are made in filming and I expect that is one similar to cigarettes being at a different state of burning from one frame to the next.

I don't know what town Mayfield is modeled after but it would seam to me it would be a Baltimore Suburb. As for the Pennants in Eddies room... My son has pennants from many different colleges in his room from going to games at several different colleges so I don't think that's much of an indicator...

If some one can think of a reason that it couldn't be Baltimore I would love to hear your reasoning.

:)

I have read that the town was styled after Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb. There is a Mayfield Heights just east of the downtown area of Cleveland.

One of the problems of the show supposedly being in the Cleveland area is that I never recall seeing any episode with snow in it or even any very cold weather. Residents of the Cleveland area will attest both snow and cold are very common there from late fall through early spring.

I have read that the town was styled after Shaker Heights, a Cleveland suburb. There is a Mayfield Heights just east of the downtown area of Cleveland.

One of the problems of the show supposedly being in the Cleveland area is that I never recall seeing any episode with snow in it or even any very cold weather. Residents of the Cleveland area will attest both snow and cold are very common there from late fall through early spring.

Where did you read that?

It's no where near RT 7 and it far more than 20 min from the ocean.

As for snow... That is probably because the show was filmed in California.

The information about the town where LITB took place being modeled from Shaker Heights was in one of the Richard Lamparski "Whatever Became of..." books in the 1980's that featured a chapter on Hugh Beaumont.

The show was filmed in California, but film studios there have been able to create snow for over 100 years.

I have just watched a show where the boys were traveling on a train by themselves to a relatives home in NY. Many clues in that episode. You should watch it. :)

If some one can think of a reason that it couldn't be Baltimore I would love to hear your reasoning.

You picked a very old thread on this subject :) . There have been many other threads, but I see mainly 2 items of reasoning some of those include that, as you would "love to hear," shows it couldn't be Baltimore. I have updated my own persuasions since what I posted on this 11-year-old thread, but I'm not going to go over all that, just what you seem to be looking for. [You can, of course, find those other threads on the Search function.]

First, remember the final season ep, near the end of the series run, when Eddie is planning to go on a fishing cruise to Alaska. There would be no such cruise that leaves from Baltimore or the Chesapeake Bay area. They wouldn't go through the Panama Canal or around Cape Horn on a summer time fishing venture. Interestingly, though, this does lend a bit of credibility to Ward's quote of years before, "We live twenty miles from any ocean..." But the summer Alaska deal kills it. And it also supports the idea of the Northwest (Washington or Oregon) as the location, as we can easily imagine fishing boats leaving from there to fish near Alaska during the hottest season.

The other point is also from the final season; the episode about Lumpy's football scholarship. One guy approaches Lumpy and says, "If they go to the Rose Bowl this year, get me a couple of tickets, will you?" They, of course is "State," the university from which he got the scholarship offer. If you know college football (and do know the history thereof), you know that from 1946 until the Rose Bowl finally joined the BCS (1999?), the Rose Bowl game was between the Big Ten Conference winner and the Pacific Coast (later Pacific 8, later still the Pac 10) Conference winner. So if 'State' was a land grant university that used State in its official name [logical enough], that narrows it down to Ohio State, Michigan State, Oregon State, and Washington State-- Arizona State and Penn State were not in those respective conferences at that time (1963).

To sum it all up, this is a debate which really has no answer, but it's a bit of fun for fans, even so. Washington or Oregon meets the rugged mountains shown in the camping episodes, the "twenty miles from the ocean" remark, and the fishing excursion to Alaska. Ohio and Michigan meet the 'feel' of the show being middle America, the references to Cincinnati and to the Cleveland suburbs and street names. All 4 states meet being: not southern, not northeastern, not Texas, not southern California, and the 'relative' situation of Aunt Martha's combination put-down and compliment of "it's good to see such an eastern-looking home so far west." But none of them reflect the climate of the respective area, and Larry's father nearly always being in Cincinnati wouldn't ring true if they live 2000 miles from there (or maybe it's another Cincinnati?), and no fishing troller leaves from the Great Lakes area to fish in Alaska.

Well, maybe I did go over most of my arguments. :lol:

Ha ha, I love it that a thread was continued twelve years after the last post! Awesome! I never really thought about the location for this show but I think all the guesses could be right. It's most likely a mystery that will never be solved. Maybe the writers just wanted to depict small town America. Although I have to say (Selfishly of course) that I'm kind of hoping it's either Washington or Oregon!

I was just watching an episode and I wondered where they lived. Ward told beaver that New England was "just a few hours away by plane" That would put it in the areas that were mentioned above. somewhere on the Eastern half of America. I guess their just was not a location, but growing up, I always felt like they lived on my street here in Texas. I always had the same situations and problems as Beaver. And I grew up in the 80's!

Ha ha, I love it that a thread was continued twelve years after the last post! Awesome! I never really thought about the location for this show but I think all the guesses could be right. It's most likely a mystery that will never be solved. Maybe the writers just wanted to depict small town America. Although I have to say (Selfishly of course) that I'm kind of hoping it's either Washington or Oregon!
This debate goes back years, on other sites, too! It's fun to try to figure out--just like trying to figure out what Ward does!

the second show, 'Still The Beaver', was definitely supposed to be Ohio, but the original never revealed location..

Can't be Mayfield, Ohio. There is no Grant Avenue in Mayfield. Just another ficticious town.

Mayfield is definitely in Oregon.

Several bits of circumstantial evidence. And one piece of hard fact.

The circumstantial evidence:

1. Mayfield is near the ocean because Eddie goes to the dock to interview for a summer job on a fishing boat in Alaska. The fact that the boat goes to Alaska (as opposed, for example, to Nova Scotia) suggests the port is on the West Coast.

2. As noted above, the Cleavers make frequent references to Pacific Coast and Pac-8 athletes. And the Rose Bowl reference for "State" fits Oregon State.

3. June once mentions Ward's fishing trips, one to "Minnesota" and another to "Seattle." The reference to the city by name suggests Seattle is nearby. They also mention that they fish with salmon eggs, which again suggests the Pacific Northwest.

4. We know from several references that they don't live in California.

5. The boys have a pennant over one of the beds with a "W" on it. Could stand for a lot of things, but Washington fits the overall picture.

So it has to be in the Pacific Northwest. But why Oregon and not Washington?

Because of the clincher: In the "Wally's License" episode, when Wally does his driver training, the car they drive has a license plate with an "E" inside an "O". That's a license plate design Oregon has used in the past. Like the example attached.

Idyllic Mayfield, Oregon.

Let's remember that when Beaver and Gilbert called the Los Angeles Dodgers to speak with Don Drysdale, every indication was that their call to LA was a very expensive long-distance call -- implying that Beaver's home was certainly not in one of the west-coast states...! This show always had a midwestern feel to it in my opinion, not west. To me, the fuss written into an ep over long-distance to LA trumps a license plate design from Oregon that slipped into view, especially if it was a 1930s plate.

The Cleaver's resident state has always been a mystery and source of speculation since the beginning of the series. We know certain places it isn't, for example, California---although we all know it was actually filmed there.

I'm on the side of the folks who claim Connelly and Mosher kept it open, probably so everyone could relate and feel the Cleavers could be their neighbors.

I submit the following examples of how the writers had a chance to reveal, but instead choose Mayfield's location to be an enigma...making it where you wanted it to be.
1. "Merchant Marine" episode: A letter comes addressed to Wally with his address on it. It says "Mayfield. (period)". No state is given, which would be customary on a letter of this sort.
2. "Wally's Pug Nose" episode: The nose straightener from Contoura Products is shown in Beaver's right hand as he pulls it from under Wally's bed. Beaver's right thumb totally covers where the state would be, but Mayfield is clearly shown.
3. "Her Idol" episode: We see the letter Ward has read from Mrs. Rayburn admonishing Beaver's behavior. The address on that letter has "Mayfield, State".
4. "The Pipe" episode: The Cleavers are gathered in the garage to open the wooden box, their German gift from the Rutherford's. As Ward is prying the box open their address is seen. It is "Mayfield, U.S.A.".

There were a bunch of shows in TV's early years that simply created fictitious towns without any clues about what state they might be in.

But it seems like the creators of Leave It To Beaver wanted to sprinkle a few "clues" (including contradictory ones) into several episodes just to have some fun.

It would seem to me that most of the evidence for LITB's location would be in the midwest somewhere... Illinois, Wisconsin or Ohio.

And it sure is fun to speculate on questions like this.

Growing up watching the show (not in its prime time run, but in syndication), I always kind of pictured it as being Ohio. But not for any particular reason.

I really agree with what you say, Tweety. Sprinkling in the clues did make it fun. It's so easy to get serious sometimes, but you reminded us the operative word here is "fictitious".

Where Mayfield was located is interesting speculation, but something I read on Hugh Beaumont's Wikipedia page is perhaps even more intriguing. It says, "Local legend in Chattanooga says that the name of the fictional town of Mayfield, where the Cleavers lived, actually came from the Mayfield Dairy, for which Beaumont had worked while attending school in Chattanooga."

It would be exciting if this were true, regarding the origin of the Mayfield name. But, it is labeled "local legend" and this Wiki site is the only place I personally have ever seen this tidbit. Anybody know of other references to this? There currently is a Mayfield Dairy operating in Chattanooga.

Also, Hugh Beaumont's mother's maiden name was Whitney. Enter Whitey Whitney. The names Mayfield and Whitney may have indeed come from Beaumont's life.

Joe Connelly was a SeeBee and "Beaver" his shipmate are not legend, but known to be true so there is some precedent.

I wouldn't doubt cast and crew had occasional input to fictional names chosen for the show, with some tracing back to their own life.

There's a Season 3 episode where Fred brags to Ward that Lumpy played in the school band "for the Governor in Madison." And sorry, the E on the license plate inside a circle or a diamond is a common designation for an official car of state or local government agencies. It's used in CA as well.

The episode I just saw, Wally talks about their team playing "Cleveland High".

How could the location be Ohio as Ward mentioned the ocean being close to their home?

I was just thinking that ;) Based on several clues, my guess would be one of the mid-Atlantic states. First of all, when Beaver was going to go away to school in New England, Ward mentioned that it was only a few hours away by plane. So, that eliminates New England (where I'm from :D ) and, also, the West Coast. I also remember an ep where Richard told Beaver that he wasn't going home until he saw a car with New Jersey plates drive by and Beaver, a minute later, said, 'There's one from Pennsylvania." (I think it was PA, but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong :cool: ) And then when Beaver was going to be on TV, Gilbert said something about his aunt in PA watching and back in the 50's and 60's, the TV antennas only got reception for a limited radius. And, since there were no southern accents and the boys often wore coats, that would eliminate the southern coastal states. My guess is Maryland. Part of it borders the Atlantic Ocean, and it's also close to both PA and NJ :) (And, it's also close enough to Ohio for all of Larry's father's many trips there to be believable :lol:)

I know this is an old thread but I came up with a location that fits all the criteria first of all there is Rt 7 which is a road in Maryland on the north east side of Baltimore In Baltimore County and Harford counties. The Location of the Baltimore suburbs was about 20 min from the ocean in the 50's and 60's, now the traffic is worse of course... That being said, in the episode "Beavers secret life" Wally refers to the Colts football team which at the time was the Baltimore Colts.

We all know that it was filmed in California, so the mountains in the background of some of the scenes could be expected. On occasion mistakes are made in filming and I expect that is one similar to cigarettes being at a different state of burning from one frame to the next.

I don't know what town Mayfield is modeled after but it would seam to me it would be a Baltimore Suburb. As for the Pennants in Eddies room... My son has pennants from many different colleges in his room from going to games at several different colleges so I don't think that's much of an indicator...

If some one can think of a reason that it couldn't be Baltimore I would love to hear your reasoning.

:)


However did I miss your post??? :eek: (I skipped right by your post without even reading it and answered another one :crazy: ) I agree with you (see my above post) and, through the process of elimination, also came up with Maryland ;)

Always thought they were on the east coast!:)

There were a bunch of shows in TV's early years that simply created fictitious towns without any clues about what state they might be in.

But it seems like the creators of Leave It To Beaver wanted to sprinkle a few "clues" (including contradictory ones) into several episodes just to have some fun.

It would seem to me that most of the evidence for LITB's location would be in the midwest somewhere... Illinois, Wisconsin or Ohio.

And it sure is fun to speculate on questions like this.

Growing up watching the show (not in its prime time run, but in syndication), I always kind of pictured it as being Ohio. But not for any particular reason.

They also would vacation at Lake Crescent and Happy Weekend they go to Shadow Lake in the mountains also Miller's Pond was nearby. Whenever they showed an envelope or package addressed to the Cleavers there was no state. That's how they wanted it to be. When Wally has that nose gadget delivered they show the package up close but Beaver's thumb is over the state also when Fred sends that meerschaum (pipe) to Ward the crate says "Mayfield, U.S.A.

In Box Office Attraction they find out Marlene's parents live in California. June says she wished they lived in Ohio, a nice quiet state.

It was Ohio. Euclid Avenue. The Ohio State pennant on Eddie Haskell's bedroom wall. Gotta be Ohio.Thats what I always thought: MAYFIELD OHIO!

Another one who'd say Ohio.

For all the reasons mentioned earlier, and this one:

When Aunt Martha is mentioned, they pronounce "aunt" like the insect, and that seems to be an Ohio or at least midwestern thing, judging from folks from there.

In one of the eps I watched last week, Ward said that they were 20 miles from the ocean (and, also, the guys would often talk about the beach and surfing, etc.). And when Eddie went down to the docks for his merchant marine interview, that ship was definitely sitting in salt water. So, it had to be a coastal state :) It couldn't have been New England, because when Beaver was going to go to prep school, Ward mentioned that it was only a few hours away by plane to New England (which also eliminates the West Coast). And since they didn't have southern accents (and, since they were often seen wearing winter coats, that eliminates the southeast coastal states, as well). That only leaves the mid-Atlantic states (Maryland, Delaware, etc.), and my money's on Maryland :)

In the episode "Summer In Alaska" from the sixth season (1962-63) Eddie is looking into a job on a fishing boat in Alaska. In it, Wally, Lumpy and he go to an office where Eddie speaks with a "Captain Drake". To set that scene, there is a quick lead-in that shows a dock and tugs on the water. Based on what is shown and then said, I'm led to think that Mayfield is in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, as Eddie, Wally and Lumpy seemed to make the trip to see "Captain Drake" so quickly, the town must be very close to the ocean.

In the episode "Summer In Alaska" from the sixth season (1962-63) Eddie is looking into a job on a fishing boat in Alaska. In it, Wally, Lumpy and he go to an office where Eddie speaks with a "Captain Drake". To set that scene, there is a quick lead-in that shows a dock and tugs on the water. Based on what is shown and then said, I'm led to think that Mayfield is in the Pacific Northwest. In addition, as Eddie, Wally and Lumpy seemed to make the trip to see "Captain Drake" so quickly, the town must be very close to the ocean.

I agree that they all live in a coastal state, but, based on all of the clues put together, it can't be on the West coast. Some examples would be (as I said in an earlier post) the fact that when Beaver was thinking of going away to boarding school in New England, Ward said that New England was only a couple hours away by plane. That wouldn't be the case if they lived in Washington state or Oregon. Also, when Beaver was going to be on local TV, Gilbert said something about his aunt in Pittsburgh always watching the show and back when LITB was airing, TV antennas only had a radius of about 100 miles. Therefore, it would have to be a mid-Atlantic state. (There are other examples, too, but I think I've already listed them in other posts ;) )

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd always imagined the show taking place in Ohio when I was growing up.

I recently watched the episode "Box Office Attraction", in which Wally falls for a girl (Marlene) who works at the local movie theater ticket window. He ends up going out on a date with her but found out that she likes "beer joints".

In that episode, June and Ward were trying to decide what kind of a girl Marlene is, based on their dinner conversation (they invited Marlene to dinner and then she and Wally went out afterwards). June had a line about how she was "hoping that Marlene was from someplace like Ohio".

To me, that line suggests that June had a certain image in her mind about people from Ohio, and what they are like, and what the towns are like that they live in (kind of like I did as a kid), and that the image she had of Ohioans and Ohio was very positive. So based on that line, it seems that the show did not take place in Ohio. I don't think the writers would have someone who's in Ohio say something like that.

There is no answer that's 100%, but I'll tell you why most signs point to Connecticut.
# 1 - they live 20 miles from the ocean, which puts them on a coast.
# 2 - Ward was born and raised in Mayfield and used to get poison ivy as a kid (an east coast plant vs poison oak, a west coast plant). They also say soda vs pop or coke.
# 3 - They can take the train to their Aunt Martha's, who was very proud of her east coast heritage.
# 4 - Through their own words they eliminate the following states: FL, NY, NJ, AZ, CA, OH.
# 5 - The rival town of Madison exists in CT and is a coastal town.
# 6 - The bottom of Ward's trash cans has CAFT. Not sure what that means, but only two states start with C and CA was eliminated.
# 7 - The cars need front license plates, which eliminates 19 states, five of which are 20 mi from the ocean (DE, NC, SC, GA, FL) and it was common enough to see a NJ plate when Beaver and Richard are looking for them.
# 8 - Ward & June take an overnight trip to Freeport and decide to leave at 4:00 to get there before dark. Freeport is in NY or ME, with NY's being only 2 hours from CT.
# 9 - They go to an NFL game in 1960 (Green Bay vs random opponent). They'd have to live close to an NFL stadium (CT was close to the Giants). If you followed the actual NFL schedule, though, Green Bay played Detroit the week that episode aired and thus, it makes no sense because of that whole 20 mi from the ocean thing.

Welcome ashore!!!!

All we have to do is figure out WHAT STATES HAVE A "MAYFIELD" and go from there!!


It would also be neat if Wally or Beaver registered and told us :)

With regards to #9 on the reasons, the family could have attended a pre-season NFL game involving the Packers. For many years (both before and well after 1960), a large number of NFL pre-season games were held in cities that did not have an NFL franchise at that time and the game was played at a college or similar venue.

Welcome ashore!!!!

All we have to do is figure out WHAT STATES HAVE A "MAYFIELD" and go from there!!


It would also be neat if Wally or Beaver registered and told us :)

Well, not really because they've said Mayfield is fictional. Jerry Mathers has said none of them knew.

Today Ward was putting screens in the windows. Not definitive but along with Crystal Falls ( I used to work there) and the W on the wall in the boys room I am sticking with it.

in 1 ep they talk about the camelback cutoff and their really is a camelback cutoff here in az so maybe they live there

I tend to think of Mayfield as being in Ohio or thereabouts. Though it's funny how an episode like Summer In Alaska could place it more in Oregon or Washington. Overall I side more with Ohio- mainly due to Larry's dad in Cincinnati- Eddie's bedroom- and there is a Mayfield in Ohio.

Yes I thought Ohio also!


Maybe if Beaver or Walley came ashore here they could tell us :)

'Perfect Father" eps, Ward says he use to play Mulhlenberg in basketball, the only Mulhenberg I know is in Berks County PA (Allentown, PA).....So Connecticut, is a strong possibility or Maryland, is another possibility....

Welcome to the site buddy :)

Hmmmmmm they lived in Mayfield right? (I dont know what state)

I love Leave it to Beaver,good show!!..

Soooo the other day Beaver mentioned the "10 o'clock news". Since this is almost an exclusive Central Time Zone thing, I think that narrows it down to the Midwest. In today's early episode on MeTV, the name of the newspaper in town was the Courier-Sun. Cleveland has a newspaper Sun-Star-Courier. The only other Courier-Sun is in Bellingen, New South Wales, Australia. I think we can eliminate that town. So my vote goes to Cleveland.

thanks Dude 111, well todays episode Beaver goes to Crystal Falls which is 90 miles from Mayfield. Can't find Mayfield close to Crystal Falls, so 90 miles from Crystal Falls is like Coleman, Wi..80 miles would be Beaver, Wi.....where have I heard the name Beaver before.....lol and both those towns are approx 20 miles from the ocean of Green Bay.......

Its interesting that on NO SHOW did they say what state they were in!! (Kind of wierd)

Welcome ashore Moboy1981 :)

This "debate" is going to go on forever.

Yes we need Wally or Beaver here!!!!

Yes we need Wally or Beaver here!!!!

Jerry Mathers would just tell us the same thing as in one of the earlier posts, that they purposely didn't specify it.

Jerry once said that in one episode they purposely scrambled the names of cities/mileages at the bus station/train station so that some avid fan couldn't try to figure it out.

Why????

Seems silly.... Who cares where they are to be frank :D

Ward mentions June's parents live in California, so where is Mayfield ? because in one episode Beaver talks about getting a surfboard (?) but where's the ocean ?

There is a Mayfield in Ohio, and Mr. Mondello is always working in Cincinnati. Maybe they surf at Lake Erie?

I think it's supposed to be near Cleveland and they go to the beach on Lake Erie, as you suggest.

As for them never having winter, I guess they lived in a paradise enclave in Ohio which is spared the snow and brutal cold. LOL

Definitely the Pacific Northwest...they have ocean access, and you can't take a fishing boat to Alaska from the Midwest! It's either Washington or Oregon. Another reason they have no distinctive accents indicating they come from the Midwest. NE and definitely not the south.

In "The Boat Builders" Ward says "we're 20 miles from the ocean.".

In "The Boat Builders" Ward says "we're 20 miles from the ocean.".

Hmmm

but not 1 episode related to the ocean but many at lakes and ponds +-

Ward is a liar. LOL

Soooo the other day Beaver mentioned the "10 o'clock news". Since this is almost an exclusive Central Time Zone thing, I think that narrows it down to the Midwest. In today's early episode on MeTV, the name of the newspaper in town was the Courier-Sun. Cleveland has a newspaper Sun-Star-Courier. The only other Courier-Sun is in Bellingen, New South Wales, Australia. I think we can eliminate that town. So my vote goes to Cleveland.

I like this answer LOL

Hmmm

but not 1 episode related to the ocean but many at lakes and ponds +-

Unless Mayfield is near Ocean City, Maryland...I think Ward meant to say they lived 500 miles from the ocean. Maybe 20 miles to Lake Erie.

In Beaver See's America 6-37

On his 6 week trip he will be seeing:

Grand Canyon
Albuquerque
Alamo Texas
Peach Tree Street Atlanta Georgia
Williamsburg VA
Statue of Liberty NY
Niagara Falls NY

so it's starting at the West coast to East coat
so is he living on the west coast ?

Teddy (Bev) drops by self proclaimed - Ugly Old Pigeon Toed Mary Margaret LOL
then Gilly (Gilbert) drops by !

In Captain Jack they walk to the Alligator Farm and it looks somewhat tropical, plus a year round alligator farm needs warm weather ...

another LITB dead lead from the writers LOL

When Wally is trying to pawn off Alba to Lumpy, Wally Mentions that Lumpy played at the band state finals in Madison (but Lumpy had swollen glands and couldn't go - LOL)

What states have a Madison ? Hmmm ...

Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this name:

Madison, Alabama
Madison, Arkansas
Madison, California
Madison, Connecticut
Madison, Florida
Madison, Georgia
Madison, Illinois
Madison, Indiana
Madison, Kansas
Madison, Maine, a town
Madison (CDP), Maine, a census-designated place within the town of Madison
Madison, Minnesota
Madison, Mississippi
Madison, Missouri
Madison, Nebraska
Madison, New Hampshire
Madison, New Jersey
Madison, New York, a town
Madison (village), New York, within the town of Madison
Madison, North Carolina
Madison, Ohio
Madison, Pennsylvania
Madison, South Dakota
Madison, Tennessee
Madison, Virginia
Madison, West Virginia
Madison (town), Wisconsin, adjacent to the city of Madison
Madison Lake, Minnesota
Madison Park, Seattle, Washington

If Madison, Ohio is anywhere near Shaker Hts., that adds to the Ohio speculation. Of course, we'd need a Riverside and Bellport, also.

The Cleavers also looked at a house in Madison near the end of season 2.

Madison, WI is proximal to Crystal Falls, MI

AHA!

At Friends Lake there are TALL either Eastern or Western WHITE Pines around the lake.

See Attached 2 maps for the 2 types of the tall white pines Locations ! ...

Of course the real-world location shot had to be somewhere in the LA/Hollywood area. It's obviously a location shot and not the soundstage.

LOL
so we have an Alligator Farm (southern US warm area)
and Tall White Pines (northern US forested temperate area)

so that narrows it down to ... nothing to make sense of (?)

some needs to ask Beav or Wally where was the Friends Lake scene was filmed at (not really)

has anyone ever figures out where the cars license plates are from ?

The plates are most obvious in season 6, but they show no state.

There is an obvious clue that I don't think anyone has mentioned yet. In the episode in which Lumpy gets a football scholarship to "State", one of his classmates mentioned getting tickets to the next Rose Bowl game. Back in that era, the Rose Bowl was played between the Big 8 Conference champ, and the Pac 8 champ. There are only four schools that were designated as "State" universities - Michigan State, Ohio State, Oregon State and Washington State. There is no way Mayfield could have been in Ohio or Michigan, because Eddie certainly couldn't sail to Alaska for a summer of fishing with no access to the Pacific Ocean. Mayfield has to be in Oregon or Washington.

I think there is a Lake Crescent in Wash. The Cleavers vacationed at Lake Crescent.

However there is no Shaker Heights there, which is where Ward is from.

The show is full of inconsistencies on the location. In one episode Ward said June was the Belle of East St. Louis.

I think there is a Lake Crescent in Wash. The Cleavers vacationed at Lake Crescent.

However there is no Shaker Heights there, which is where Ward is from.

The show is full of inconsistencies on the location. In one episode Ward said June was the Belle of East St. Louis.


LOL WOW
East St Louis Illinois is the worst city big time - it's across the Mississippi from St Louis MO and is where the gangs, drugs, ... dominate

poor June

That's why Beaver wrote that she worked in beer joints and dives.

I believe that the actual location was suppressed intentionally to give the show an "everywhere USA" appeal.

That said, I recall one episode where they are traveling by car to the lake, and I very clearly recognize the stretch of the Ventura Freeway where that film was shot. So, I'm more inclined to side with visual evidence than theory. California

We never get an episode with snow, do we? I think that eliminates a lot of the popular points of contention.
My personal favorite Glendale California. It was getting "burbed out" just about the time the Beaver was in original runs. Roughly 20 miles from the ocean,

Your first sentence nails it.

Your first sentence nails it.

Was there ever a Christmas episode of LITB?

In the pre global warming world, "no snow" (boots, gloves snowshovels, etc) at Christmas might give some indication where Mayfield is not.

Another Clue ---

In the Beaver's Laundry episode, Richard's mother had said to the father "Take the Laundry over to your Mother" and the response was he couldn't "His grandmother lives in California".

so California is O U T ! lol

One can cite dialog from varying episodes that rule out any state.

so maybe we need to Make A New State ...

Tee Vee Land ?

someone can do better than that !

In Captain Jack they walk to the Alligator Farm and it looks somewhat tropical, plus a year round alligator farm needs warm weather ...


There was an alligator farm in Los Angeles from 1907 until 1984.

https://www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/a-trip-to-the-california-alligator-farm-in-1927



And, they supplied baby alligators to local pet shops as late as 1977

https://abcnews.go.com/US/alligator-lived-los-angeles-familys-backyard-37-years/story?id=28249346

I recall a friend living in a former commercial building on Arbor Vitae st. in Inglewood that had been converted to apartments in the 1990s. And in his backyard were these large cement basins that looked like above ground swimming pools.
When I asked him what they were for, he mentioned that the building used to be a pet store, and they sold Alligators out of those pits.

Seemed like a tall tale at the time, but these news stories give it some credibility

In the book "A Cuban in Mayberry," the author says that there is a Mayfield Wisconsin that is not far from the state capital of Madison, both places mentioned in LITB.

Ultimately LITB takes place in a state of mind.

That's it--the last sentence!

In Beaver's Good Deed he says he wants the newest surfboard and June says the one he bought last year is still new. Surfing is an ocean thing ... unless it's All In Your Mind - lol

I cant believe that in any of the episodes,there isnt something that says what state it is....

Quite strange.....

recent episode about Beaver not Graduating --- June Said the relatives are coming all the way from California - so there's that - BUT Beaver wanted to buy a surfboard - so there's that LOL

Throughout the series, state references are ( purposely ) ambiguous and contradicted, but how about the general area of the lower 48? I was thinking west coast for sure:

Mild temperate climate. No snow or winter. They seem to very often wear at least a light jacket, and other than on just one episode, the temperature being uncomfortably high is never commented on.

Many references to access to the ocean/sea, as if were at most a dozen miles away.

Eddie's would-be Alaskan fishing expedition. No 'Arctic Fish Co' would set sail from the east coast, go south and through the Panama canal, and back north to the pacific northwest and to Alaskan waters. No way, no day.

It's strange that during the six season run of the series, the state where the Cleavers lived was not revealed. When watching episodes, it gives the impression to me that the Cleavers were a Midwest suburban family.

I cant believe that in any of the episodes,there isnt something that says what state it is....

Quite strange.....

The show deliberately avoided it. Even when someone gets a letter or package, it will say "Mayfield, USA."

On Facebook a moderator photoshopped a state onto Eddie's credit card. Over a hundred comment on that.

Orange County, California.

recent episode about Beaver not Graduating --- June Said the relatives are coming all the way from California - so there's that - BUT Beaver wanted to buy a surfboard - so there's that LOL

Plus, it was said in, I think the episode where the boys build a boat, Ward says they are 20 miles from the nearest ocean.

Orange County, California.

But you see, in dialogue, they've often referred to California "in the third person" so to speak. As a place that is away from them, not where they're at.

I agree though that on a climactic level, southern California works.

on Beaver Sees America - the bus trip starts at the Grand Canyon then Texas then Atlanta then up the Atlantic Coast ...

But you see, in dialogue, they've often referred to California "in the third person" so to speak. As a place that is away from them, not where they're at.

.

I lived out there for nearly 15 years, and trust me many Californians refer to themselves in the third person.

Sunset Strip, Haight-Ashbury, and parts of Berkeley, in particular. :crazy:

Plus, I'm telling ya, one afternoon the Cleavers drove up to the lake, and I recognized the roadside they were driving by as headed north on the Ventura Freeway.

The show deliberately avoided it. Even when someone gets a letter or package, it will say "Mayfield, USA."Hehe but why,its so wierd!!

:D

I tend to believe the Cleavers lived somewhere in the Midwest but they could have lived almost anyplace within the 48 states since the state was never revealed. They didn't seem to live near mountains so states like Colorado and Utah can probably be ruled out. The desert southwest states like New Mexico and Arizona can probably be ruled out also. Texas doesn't sound right either, Texas can probably also be ruled out. The southern states don't sound right either. If they didn't live in the Midwest then I'd guess they probably lived somewhere on the west coast, the state of Oregon or maybe Washington. East coast is possible too but probably less likely.

It's an unsolvable riddle. Different clues point in different directions. The writers of LITB wanted to create an archetypal place that anyone could relate to.

People have mentioned either Maryland or New York as plausible states because they check out with all the clues left in the show. I don't know if that argument stands up or not, but there is a Friends Lake in New York.

Of course all this is only fun speculation, because there is no real answer nor was there meant to be. LITB takes place in a state of mind.

Replace Springfield with Mayfield

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdOz6_C2x-Y
vdOz6_C2x-Y

:lol::lol:

In my screenplay about a fictional child actor in '50s Hollywood, I have the TV studio getting letters from viewers asking, What state does the show take place in, and What does the Dad do for a living? Nobody knows the answer.

The Bus Ride

I don't think I have ever seen the boy's bed with more than a sheet and a thin blanket on them. It must be warm where they live.

I don't think I have ever seen the boy's bed with more than a sheet and a thin blanket on them. It must be warm where they live.

and NO episodes of the kids shoveling snow or sledding, Beav DOES want to buy a surfboard at on point ...

Ya NOT guuna use a surfboard unless you live on the Ocean COAST !

When Beaver wants a job delivering Newspapers - he mentions to Ward the the phone number of the Newspaper Office as
KL4-6287 which is 554-6387

the US cities that use the 554 exchange is:

PS -- S6/Ep4 "The Late Edition" - Beaver also mentions he wants the Surfboard



# Area Code Prefix City State Zip County Company
1 201 554 NEWARK NJ 07103 ESSEX ONVOY, LLC NJ
2 201 554 NEWARK NJ 07105 ESSEX ONVOY, LLC NJ
3 201 554 NEWARK NJ 07102 ESSEX ONVOY, LLC NJ
4 202 554 WASHINGTON DC 20024 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
5 202 554 WASHINGTON NAVY YARD DC 20374 DISTRICT OF .
6 202 554 WASHINGTON DC 20003 DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
7 203 554 STAMFORD CT 06910 FAIRFIELD NEW CINGULAR
8 203 554 STAMFORD CT 06902 FAIRFIELD NEW CINGULAR
9 203 554 STAMFORD CT 06901 FAIRFIELD NEW CINGULAR
10 204 554 KILLARNEY MB Westman Media Cooperative Ltd
11 205 554 TUSCALOOSA AL 35404 TUSCALOOSA BELLSOUTH
12 205 554 TUSCALOOSA AL 35405 TUSCALOOSA
13 205 554 TUSCALOOSA AL 35401 TUSCALOOSA
14 206 554 SEATTLE WA 98161 KING QWEST CORPORATION
15 206 554 SEATTLE WA 98154 KING QWEST CORPORATION
16 206 554 SEATTLE WA 98104 KING QWEST CORPORATION
17 207 554 PRESQUE ISLE ME 04769 AROOSTOOK
18 208 554 MOORE ID 83255 BUTTE ALBION TELEPHONE CO.
19 209 554 MODESTO CA 95354 STANISLAUS ONVOY, LLC - CA
20 209 554 MODESTO CA 95351 STANISLAUS ONVOY, LLC - CA
21 209 554 MODESTO CA 95350 STANISLAUS ONVOY, LLC - CA
22 210 554 SAN ANTONIO TX 78205 BEXAR SOUTHWESTERN BELL
23 210 554 SAN ANTONIO TX 78206 BEXAR SOUTHWESTERN BELL
24 210 554 SAN ANTONIO TX 78285 BEXAR SOUTHWESTERN BELL
25 212 554 NEW YORK NY 10106 NEW YORK VERIZON NEW YORK INC.
26 212 554 NEW YORK NY 10019 NEW YORK VERIZON NEW YORK INC.
27 212 554 NEW YORK NY 10036 NEW YORK VERIZON NEW YORK INC.

28 213 554 CA LOS ANGELES !!!!!

29 214 554 GRAND PRAIRIE TX 75051 DALLAS NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL
30 214 554 GRAND PRAIRIE TX 75050 DALLAS NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL
31 214 554 GRAND PRAIRIE TX 75052 DALLAS NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL
32 215 554 PHILADELPHIA PA 19102 PHILADELPHIA MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC
33 215 554 PHILADELPHIA PA 19130 PHILADELPHIA MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC
34 215 554 PHILADELPHIA PA 19110 PHILADELPHIA MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC
35 216 554 CLEVELAND OH 44114 CUYAHOGA CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - OH
36 216 554 CLEVELAND OH 44115 CUYAHOGA CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - OH
37 216 554 CLEVELAND OH 44113 CUYAHOGA CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - OH
38 217 554 TILTON IL 61833 VERMILION AMERITECH ILLINOIS
39 217 554 DANVILLE IL 61832 VERMILION AMERITECH ILLINOIS
40 217 554 DANVILLE IL 61834 VERMILION AMERITECH ILLINOIS
41 218 554 WASKISH MN 56685 BELTRAMI PAUL BUNYAN RURAL TELEPHONE COOPERATIVE
42 219 554 HAMMOND IN 46327 LAKE AMERITECH INDIANA
43 219 554 HAMMOND IN 46320 LAKE AMERITECH INDIANA
44 219 554 HAMMOND IN 46324 LAKE AMERITECH INDIANA
45 220 554 OH
46 223 554 PA
47 224 554 ROLLING MEADOWS IL 60008 COOK TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - IL
48 224 554 ARLINGTON HEIGHTS IL 60005 COOK TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - IL
49 224 554 SCHAUMBURG IL 60173 COOK TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - IL
50 225 554 LA
# Area Code Prefix City State Zip County Company

My neck of the woods.

19 209 554 MODESTO CA 95354 STANISLAUS ONVOY, LLC - CA
20 209 554 MODESTO CA 95351 STANISLAUS ONVOY, LLC - CA
21 209 554 MODESTO CA 95350 STANISLAUS ONVOY, LLC - CA

In Beaver's Big Prize, Beaver sells the Sports Cars and his ad says his phone number is:
Whitney 1 - 2758

or WH1 - 2758 ?

Which is: 941 - 2758

Which could be: NO SUCH CITY CODE = Dead End Lead lol

Dead end, and in a few other episodes, their number is KL 5-4763.

Also in the 60s I don't think there was a KLondike exchange anywhere in the US, which if true, would mean there were no 554 or 555 numbers then (which is why TV shows used KL or KLondike). Eventually with long-distance dialing, 555 was a universal number for directory assistance.

To add a little more confusion, in the era of named exchanges like WHitney , WAlnut, etc., I don't think any exchanges had a 1 in any position (note there are no letters on the dial corresponding to 1). I think the number one anywhere in an exchange would confuse the telephone switching equipment of that time. To this day no phone prefixes begin with 1, due to its use to indicate a toll call in the landline world.

In other words, KLondike anything is bogus, and WH1 is bogus.

Definitely the Pacific Northwest, Washington or Oregon, I'm leaning more to WA. Eddie and Lumpy drove to the beach and they thought Moby Dick washed ashore. Wally talked about surfboards The clincher for me was Seasons 6 "Summer in Alaska" Where else in the USA can you take a fishing boat to Alaska? The east coast...I doubt it unless via the Panama Canal. The Cleaver's had no distinctive accents...definitely not Jersey, Brooklyn, the Midwests and especially the south. Aunt Martha had a New England type accent, but Fallbrook was in NE since we know Beaver had to fly there!

In today's episode "Visiting Aunt's", the boys want their father to drive them over to a carnival in Garden Grove..... a destination that by popular consent is too far to walk, but not so far that a promotional bill is posted on a wall the boys are all standing in front of. And of course, that day is the scheduled last day for the carnival to operate.

June objects because Aunt Martha and Ms Hathaway are driving over from Riverside, on their way down to Indian Cabins, where Ms Hathaway later reveals that her deceased husband general was "once stationed there".

Riverside and Garden Grove are both satellite communities to Los Angeles, and while I can verify no California community named "Indian Cabins", there is a well known marine base south of Los Angeles Camp Pendleton.

After the aunt's visit lasts so long that the entire afternoon is shot, the boys resign themselves that the carnival is a lost cause, until Ward points out that the carnival is open until 11PM, and that he would be willing to treat the boys to a trip......as compensation for their earlier .cooperation .

From this episode we can conclude that the Cleaver homestead is:

1. Just a morning drive from "Riverside".
2. Close enough to a military base that the two elderly aunt's do not find it daunting to drive there, beginning their journey in the late afternoon.
3.Close enough to "Garden Grove" that Ward didn't see any problem visiting there, potentially as late as 11 PM


You can feel free to google as much as you want, but I suspect you will be hard pressed to find 3 matching locations all within a reasonable driving distance proximity to one another, other than in Southern California.

Hate to bust your theory, but in Wally Track Meet...Beaver comments that Lumpy get 10cents a mile for driving guys there....he says something like at that rare he'll go by way of California

Any theory can be busted. It's a riddle that won't be solved...

Hate to bust your theory, but in Wally Track Meet...Beaver comments that Lumpy get 10cents a mile for driving guys there....he says something like at that rare he'll go by way of California

FWIW, I've talked to people in Golden Gate Park who had no idea what planet they were even on, let alone what state. :crazy:

At any rate I don't see Theodore winning any war of wills with Aunt Martha, any time the two might disagree, we both know that June will intervene and explain how the youngster is just confused.

But I digress, show me ANY other locale in the USA that is within a couple hours drive of towns named "Riverside" as well as Garden Grove, that is conveniently near a military base, as well.

I find this fun to kick around BUT just in this thread there are SO MANY cast spoken inconsistencies

For sure the different writers (and maybe some same ones) didn't even care about the former episodes details ...

so ya - some episodes are in the LA area (proven by phone exchange / see post 118) and some are NOT

Just an imaginary town on celluloid ! {with celluloid villains & heroes (Kinks song !)}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yp_QkUVZGPc

Kinks - Celluloid Heroes

Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star
And everybody's in movies, it doesn't matter who you are
There are starts in every city
In every house and on every street
And if you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Their names are written in concrete
Don't step on Greta Garbo as you walk down the Boulevard
She looks so weak and fragile that's why she tried to be so hard
But they turned her into a princess
And they sat her on a throne
But she turned her back on stardom
Because she wanted to be alone
You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain
Rudolph Valentino looks very much alive
And he looks up ladies dresses as they sadly pass him by
Avoid stepping on Bela Lugosi
'Cause he's liable to turn and bite
But stand close by Bette Davis
Because hers was such a lonely life
If you covered him with garbage
George Sanders would still have style
And if you stamped on Mickey Rooney
He would still turn round and smile
But please don't tread on dearest Marilyn
Cause she's not very tough
She should have been made of iron or steel
But she was only made of flesh and blood
You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain
Everybody's a dreamer and everybody's a star
And everybody's in show biz, it doesn't matter who you are
And those who are successful
Be always on your guard
Success walks hand in hand with failure
Along Hollywood Boulevard
I wish my life was non-stop Hollywood movie show
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die
You can see all the stars as you walk along...
You can see all the stars as you walk down Hollywood Boulevard
Some that you recognize, some that you've hardly even heard of
People who worked and suffered and struggled for fame
Some who succeeded and some who suffered in vain
La la la la....
Oh, celluloid heroes never feel any pain
Oh, celluloid heroes never really die
I wish my life was non-stop Hollywood movie show
A fantasy world of celluloid villains and heroes
Because celluloid heroes never feel any pain
And celluloid heroes never really die

What I believe to be the case is that, from time to time, they incorporated an intentionally misleading geographic reference to support an "everywhere usa" sort of mystique. To cover up the obvious reality that they were shooting in California.

C'mon,,, no boots, no earmuffs, no snow shovels, nor snowball fights? An alligator farm, The Cleavers living 20 minutes from the ocean? A boat ride to Alaska? Sounds like nowhere in the Midwest that I've ever been.

The Drew Carey show was set in Cleveland, they occasionally featured shows including snow - believable
(Shaker Heights is a suburb of Cleveland)

All in the Family show set in New York City, occasionally featured snow-believable

Seinfeld- ditto

Home Improvement show set in Detroit, occasionally featured snow-believable

But, some want to place LITB in Wisconsin? Where is the snow? Not to mention Eddie sailed to Alaska via the St Lawrence seaway and the Panama canal?

Have Jerry Mathers or Tony Dow ever addressed the question as to what state the Cleavers lived in?

There is a Mayfield in the state of Ohio so it's plausible that the Cleavers resided there. I've always had the vibe that the Cleavers were Ohio residents. The series might have been filmed in California but it has a midwest feel to it.

There is a Mayfield in the state of Ohio so it's plausible that the Cleavers resided there. I've always had the vibe that the Cleavers were Ohio residents. .

Not one snowball fight, not one snow shovel....both icons of adolescent and pre-adolescent American males....when coupled with the boat ride to Alaska, really challenge that plausibility.

What I believe to be the case is that, from time to time, they incorporated an intentionally misleading geographic reference to support an "everywhere usa" sort of mystique. To cover up the obvious reality that they were shooting in California.

And to purposely throw off guesses as to the location.

Any state someone can come up with can be debunked by other quotes.

Over on Facebook I once said I thought Mayfield was a suburb of Santiago, Chile.

Not one snowball fight, not one snow shovel....both icons of adolescent and pre-adolescent American males....when coupled with the boat ride to Alaska, really challenge that plausibility.

There actually is a Mayfield in California, it's in the Palo Alto area. So if you take into account the lack of snow in the episodes and the boat trip to Alaska, it matches up with California and not Ohio. Just strange that "Mayfield" is the only location given in the episodes and the state is not mentioned.

And to purposely throw off guesses as to the location.

Any state someone can come up with can be debunked by other quotes.
.

I guess the truly positive thing is that the show managed to endear itself so, to the extent that people will ....."contend" with one another, struggling to establish Mayfield as their state of Nirvana.

I guess that everybody would like a "piece" of that?

I do see the "no snow, not ever" factor as a telling and unable to ignore indicator.

You just know there would be a story about Larry Mondello borrowing Ward's new snow shovel, and breaking or losing it...if the show had any roots in the snowbelt.

I mean when you think about it, we never even see a snow shovel hanging on the wall in any of the many garage scenes the show has featured.

I like to think that the Cleavers were a midwest suburban family living in Mayfield Ohio, but Mayfield California seems to be the more logical location.

They did a Christmas themed episode in the 1st season, but as far as I know that's the only one and the other seasons don't have a Christmas episode which is unusual for a family sitcom.

I'm doing this from memory and don't recall which episode this is from, but in one of the episodes there's an outdoor scene with Beaver and one of his friends, they are outside on the street talking to each other, and if I remember correct they are wearing jackets and you can see their breath in the air as they are talking so it must have been fairly chilly outside when they filmed that scene.

I believe that it was the desire of the show's producers to portray a "MiddleTown USA (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middletown_studies)" image, hoping to subscribe a broad appeal. And it seems to have worked.

I just enjoy butting heads with those determined to try and insist upon a finite location.

In today's episode, Wally and friends are building a kayak in the Cleaver garage. And it is decided that upon completion they will first test it in Miller's Pond, before taking it 20 miles to the ocean.

Regardless of whichever state one prefers to believe the that show is set in, I see the "20 miles from the ocean" criteria to be a mandatory qualification.

In today's episode, Wally and friends are building a kayak in the Cleaver garage. And it is decided that upon completion they will first test it in Miller's Pond, before taking it 20 miles to the ocean.

Regardless of whichever state one prefers to believe the that show is set in, I see the "20 miles from the ocean" criteria to be a mandatory qualification.

LOL ya your right !
But your not right according to other episodes +-

just having fun here

the creators were ALL from New York
Creators: Joe Connelly, Bob Mosher, Dick Conway

another LITB dead lead from the writers LOL

When Wally is trying to pawn off Alba to Lumpy, Wally Mentions that Lumpy played at the band state finals in Madison (but Lumpy had swollen glands and couldn't go - LOL)

What states have a Madison ? Hmmm ...

Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital...
He also said they played for the governor.

In one episode, Richard Rickover tells Beaver that he can’t go home until he sees a car with New Jersey plates (which he eventually does). I guess there could be drivers from NJ in Oregon or Washington, but I don’t think there’d be too many of them in the Pacific Northwest.

I just read this entire thread - fun stuff

Here are some sensible comments

Jerry Mathers has said none of them knew.

Jerry Mathers would just tell us the same thing as in one of the earlier posts, that they purposely didn't specify it.

Jerry once said that in one episode they purposely scrambled the names of cities/mileages at the bus station/train station so that some avid fan couldn't try to figure it out.

I believe that the actual location was suppressed intentionally to give the show an "everywhere USA" appeal.

Ultimately LITB takes place in a state of mind.

It's an unsolvable riddle. Different clues point in different directions. The writers of LITB wanted to create an archetypal place that anyone could relate to.


It's A STATE OF MIND

I just read this entire thread - fun stuff

Here are some sensible comments

Jerry Mathers has said none of them knew.

Jerry Mathers would just tell us the same thing as in one of the earlier posts, that they purposely didn't specify it.

Jerry once said that in one episode they purposely scrambled the names of cities/mileages at the bus station/train station so that some avid fan couldn't try to figure it out.

I believe that the actual location was suppressed intentionally to give the show an "everywhere USA" appeal.

Ultimately LITB takes place in a state of mind.

It's an unsolvable riddle. Different clues point in different directions. The writers of LITB wanted to create an archetypal place that anyone could relate to.


It's A STATE OF MIND

Yes, this is the answer. I was looking early in this thread just now (posts from 26 years ago), and several mentioned Ohio--it makes sense until you think of other statements that would blow the theory away (such as the twenty miles to the ocean reference).

There was a thread about this on the old TV Land boards, too.

Other sitcoms from the era did the same thing. Some, like Dennis the Menace and Hazel, never even mentioned a town name.

Whenever the name "Mayfield" occurs, say, on an envelope or letter, it just says "Mayfield, USA" or simply "Mayfield."

It's a state of mind - I couldn't agree more!

Whats the big secret with what state they are in?? :lol:

Whats the name of the school they goto? We might be able to find it that way!!

State of Confusion

Whats the big secret with what state they are in?? :lol:

Whats the name oif the school they goto? We might be able to find it that way!!

Grant Avenue School wouldn't tell one anything.

Instead of a secret, I guess I'd call it an unknown.

There are 131 schools in the USA with the word grant in the name.
https://www.tfdsupplies.com/blogs/school-directory/schools-with-grant-in-their-name-in-the-united-states

Hmmmm I guess Stevie is right,that wont tell us jack!!

Mayfield is a hop, skip, and a jump from Hooterville….

The sitcom Benson had a clever angle. Benson worked for the governor of a state that was never mentioned. So much dialogue kept saying things like “As the governor of this state…..”

cd

Yeah, I forgot about Benson being in "parts unknown."

I wonder why its such a big secret what state they are in??


What state does Beaver live in?? That might tell us :)

I'm guessing Jerry Mathers, who would now be in his upper 70s, lives in the L. A. area.