Skip to content 
For millions of television viewers, Petticoat Junction was never simply another situation comedy. It represented a warm, deliberately old-fashioned corner of American television where problems were usually manageable, neighbors knew one another, and a tiny train could seemingly connect an entire community. The series premiered on CBS on September 24, 1963, and remained on television for seven seasons, producing 222 episodes before its final original episode aired on April 4, 1970.
At the center of the story was the Shady Rest Hotel, a rural establishment operated by Kate Bradley and surrounded by the eccentric residents of the fictional Hooterville area. The program mixed family comedy, romance, music, small-town misunderstandings and the occasional wonderfully improbable scheme. Decades later, its characters, train and memorable opening remain recognizable symbols of an era of American television.
The series was created by Paul Henning, whose enormous success with The Beverly Hillbillies helped open the door for another rural comedy. Petticoat Junction would eventually become part of a loosely connected television universe that also included Green Acres. Characters could cross between the programs, and familiar Hooterville locations helped give the fictional community a life extending beyond a single series.
The concept was built around Kate Bradley, played by veteran actress Bea Benaderet, who managed the Shady Rest while raising her three daughters. Living with the family was Kate’s Uncle Joe Carson, played by Edgar Buchanan, whose confidence in his own schemes was generally much greater than his enthusiasm for actual work. Together, they created a household that could support almost any comic situation the writers imagined.