Where are the Clampetts from?

What state did the Clampetts come from?

[michele]

Jethro,
my sources say they are from the Ozarks but I am not certain of the exact state.

Michele

[PickOfTheLitter]

Granny, at least, is from Tennessee (the palm-reader lady said that she saw a "10" and a "C", and Granny said she was right.)

[johnpowelljr]

In the pilot episode, Cousin Pearl referred
to Eureka Springs....Also, the Clampetts
went to Silver Dollar City, which is near
Branson....therefore, in my opinion, the
Clampett's cabin must be somewhere in north
west Arkansas, in the Ft Smith area....also
since they know the people of Hooterville,
I figure that Hooterville is got to be in
northern Arkansas, or southern Missouri....
also, this is exactly where the Ozarks are...

[Jamiesondl]

I saw the Beverly Hillbillies movie and I heard Mr.Drysdale say"Driving from Arkansas?"
So I think they lived in Arkansas

[Jamiesondl]

I saw the Beverly Hillbillies movie and I heard Mr.Drysdale say"Driving from Arkansas?"
So I think they lived in Arkansas

[Richard]

I don't think Henning wanted to pinpoint a particular location for the Beverly Hillbillies' original home.I still remember when Jed told Mr.Drysadle that Jethro had gone to school in Oxford.Mr.Drysdale then found out Jed meant the Oxford elementary school in Bugtussle,built next to the river where the ox used to ford.

MISS JANE:He went to Oxford?I assume then that he went to Eaton when he was younger?
JED:If I know Jethro,he went to eatin' the day he was born.

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Richard Ranke

i can't beleive all you so-called fans don't know the clampetts are from Bugtussle, Tennessee. they've only mentioned it about once every episode

[Perderabo]

Sorry, rangerich, but you are simply dead wrong. Watch them again. Sure they mention "Bugtussle" rather frequently. And sure Tennessee, like several other states, has a place called Bugtussle. However, there is nothing in any episode of the show nor in the movie to suggest that Bugtussle, TN is home to the Clampetts.

As someone mentioned, there is a clue that Granny comes from Tennessee. But her name is Daisy Mae Moses. She is Jed's mother-in-law and thus she is not a Clampett.

In trying to determine which state the Clampetts do hail from, it might be tempting to limit the list to states with a real Bugtussle. But ultimately that would be dangerous with a fictional show and its Bugtussle could be in any state.

But if you want to play the "only real Bugtussles count" game, then I would suggest that Bugtussle, Oklahoma is a more likely choice. After all, Jed sold his oil strike to the John Brewster who represented the O.K. Oil Company of Tulsa, OK.

Click here for a link claiming Bugtussle, Oklahoma as the home of the Clampetts.

But since this is a fictional show, I believe that Bugtussle Arkansas is the answer that is most consistent with the clues offered in the series.

And if the movie counts, Bugtussle Arkansas is the clear answer as it is mentioned explicitly and it's the only way the Clinton joke works.

If you're going to pop in on this board and label us "so-called fans" I think you should be ready to back that up with something more subtantive than your own big mouth. If you have any evidence to back up your Bugtussle, Tennessee claim, go ahead and post it.


[This message has been edited by Perderabo (edited 01-08-2001).]

[ShermanW]

It has to be Arkansas or Missouri, simply because there are so many references to the Ozarks. One example: the pilot episode mentions Eureka Springs, a real town in northern Arkansas.
In addition, Paul Henning is from Missouri, and makes no secret of the fact that he was inspired by real-life hillbillies he met in the Show Me State. Let's not forget that the 1969 "back home" episodes were filmed in Branson.
If I had to guess, I'd say Missouri. There's an outside chance it's Arkansas, but I wouldn't put too much stock in what the Jim Varney/Cloris Leachman movie script says. After all, that movie wasn't written by Paul Henning.
I would discount Tennessee as a possibility, because the show never mentions the Smoky Mountains or any Tennessee town names. If there is a town in Tennessee called Bugtussle, I would think that's just a coincidence. Granny may be from Tennessee, but she's the only one.
There's one TV reference book out there (the name escapes me) that claims the Clampetts are from Virginia! In fact, the author is adamant about it. It's laughable.

The Hillbillies were from Tennessee.

[Aunt Clara]

The subject of what state did the Clampetts actually come from has been debated as much and as long as who shot Kennedy. I wish Paul Henning would have settled the issue publicly (since he wrote the show) before he went to his reward. Now, we'll never really know the answer.

[tdr]

Somewhere in this site there is a long thread about this topic. I think it's little wonder Henning did not want to mention any particular place they are from, with the hostility he might have faced from the true residents there, with ideas like a 5th grade edjeecation being considered well-learned, not knowing about telephones or aircraft, et al. Mentioning Eureka Springs as within traveling distance was as far he would go, at least until they do the Silver Dollar City episodes in the last, or next to last, year. But it's presented as town, not as a theme park.

One thing I have thought of to play the illusion is that no one, including the Clampetts, knew for sure whether they are in Missouri or in Arkansas, just somewhere near the border. That way, state authorities in both states may assume they live in the other state and overlook them as far as taxes, licenses, the census, as they apparently know nothing of these things. But then, how did Jed legally sell his swamp to the OK Oil Company? Oh well...

Granny is from Tennessee-- that must be mentioned 50 or 100 times. But Jed does say the is "from my wife's family in Tennessee," indicating he is not from Tennessee. And they are also supposed to have know Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, presented in the shows as their true selves. One of them was from Tennessee, the other from North Carolina (if my memory is right). And it's not just Granny who knew them; Pearl was courted by both of them . Granny also said she spanked Pearl as a toddler (and could still do it with the bigger target). Sometimes we may get the idea that Jed's wife was his cousin, maybe distant cousin, and the families REmerged with Jed's marriage to her.

[sonseeker]

At some time in the later years, another show was spun off and some overlapping occured. That show of course was "Petticoat Junction" Granny was know to have shopped at Drucker's. Of course the Clampett's were not from the junction but that was the train stop they used when returning home. In fact Pearl also had interaction with Mr. Drucker as well as Steve and Betty Jo. I believe the name mentioned for the Clampett's home was "Crabapple Cove". Bugtussle was Granny's home of origin.

[Marvo301]

Crabapple Cove is in Maine and it is the hometown of the character Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H. The Clampetts hometown is definitely Bugtussle. What isn't definite and probably never will be is where Bugtussle is.