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50 free Petticoat Junction trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Petticoat Junction ran on CBS from 1963 to 1970, set at the Shady Rest Hotel on a forgotten branch line where the Cannonball stopped whenever the crew felt like fishing. It was Paul Henning's middle show, born from The Beverly Hillbillies and parent to Green Acres. This quiz covers Kate Bradley and Bea Benaderet, Uncle Joe and his schemes, the three actresses who played Billie Jo, the Cannonball and its nemesis Homer Bedloe, Sam Drucker's store, the real locomotive, the theme song and the crossovers with Hooterville's other residents. Every answer is sourced and explained, so it works for a classic-TV night or a trivia game for seniors.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On which network did Petticoat Junction air from 1963 to 1970?
CBS
It was canceled in spring 1970 despite improving ratings, a precursor to the network's "rural purge".
Q 02What is the name of the hotel where Petticoat Junction is set?
The Shady Rest
Kate says her stubborn grandfather built it there because that was where the lumber fell off the train.
Q 03Who played Kate Bradley, the widowed proprietress of the hotel?
Bea Benaderet
Paul Henning wrote the series for her after decades of second-banana roles with Jack Benny, Lucille Ball and Burns and Allen.
Q 04Who played Uncle Joe Carson?
Edgar Buchanan
He was the only actor to appear in every episode and was just three years older than the actress playing his niece.
Q 05Which of Kate's daughters is the red-haired tomboy who loves to drive the train?
Betty Jo
She was played for all seven seasons by Linda Kaye Henning, the creator's daughter.
Q 06How many actresses played the blonde daughter Billie Jo over the show's run?
Three
Jeannine Riley, then Gunilla Hutton, then Meredith MacRae; Sharon Tate was originally cast but never appeared.
Q 07Which future star was originally cast as Billie Jo but never appeared on the show?
Sharon Tate
A cast photo was taken with her, but producer Martin Ransohoff felt she was not ready for a central role.
Q 08Who played the brunette middle daughter Bobbie Jo from season three onward?
Lori Saunders
Pat Woodell left after two seasons to sing; the bookworm character gradually became a comic scatterbrain.
Q 09What is the name of the vintage steam train that serves the hotel?
The Hooterville Cannonball
The 1890s train runs more like a taxi service and makes unscheduled stops so the crew can fish or pick fruit for Kate's pies.
Q 10Which two towns sit at either end of the Cannonball's isolated branch line?
Hooterville and Pixley
Each is about 25 miles from the hotel; the line was cut off from the main railroad by flood damage to a trestle.
Q 11Why is the hotel's train stop nicknamed "Petticoat Junction"?
The sisters hang their petticoats on the water tower
It is technically a water stop, not a junction; the opening titles show the petticoats while the girls swim offscreen.
Q 12Who created Petticoat Junction, as well as The Beverly Hillbillies?
Paul Henning
His wife Ruth's childhood memories of her grandmother's hotel in Eldon, Missouri, supplied the setting.
Q 13The show's hotel was based on a real hotel in which Missouri town?
Eldon
Q 21Which crop duster joins the cast in season four and eventually marries Betty Jo?
Steve Elliott
Mike Minor played him; he had appeared two years earlier as Selma Plout's son Dan, never seen again.
Q 22Who played Dr. Janet Craig, the physician brought in as a mother figure in season six?
June Lockhart
She came straight from three years as Maureen Robinson on Lost in Space and had earlier played the mother on Lassie.
Q 23How did the show handle Kate Bradley after her actress died in 1968?
She was said to be "out of town"
The Burris Hotel, once called the Rock Island Hotel, was run by the creator's wife's grandparents beside the Rock Island tracks.
Q 14Which spin-off grew out of Petticoat Junction's success in 1965?
Green Acres
Both shows share Hooterville and characters like Sam Drucker, Newt Kiley and Floyd Smoot.
Q 15Who runs the general store in Hooterville that doubles as post office and newspaper?
Sam Drucker
He is also justice of the peace, county clerk, water commissioner, marshal and occasionally mayor.
Q 16Which actor played the same storekeeper on three shows at once, a TV first?
Frank Cady
He was a regular on this show and Green Acres and guested on The Beverly Hillbillies; his last role was in Return to Green Acres in 1990.
Q 17Which railroad executive keeps trying to scrap the Cannonball?
Homer Bedloe
Charles Lane played the curmudgeon in 24 episodes and said he perfected the type on I Love Lucy.
Q 18Who played the Cannonball's engineer Charley Pratt in the first four seasons?
Smiley Burnette
The former Gene Autry sidekick died of leukemia in 1967 right after the fourth season wrapped.
Q 19What is Kate Bradley's cooking specialty at the hotel?
Chicken 'n' dumplings
Meals seen on screen were actually cooked by property master Vince Vecchio, whom the star praised as better than anyone's mother.
Q 20Which of these was a proposed title for the show before Petticoat Junction was chosen?
Ozark Widow
Dern Tootin' and Whistle Stop were also considered.
A main character dying was nearly unheard of in a 1960s sitcom; the theme lyric changed from "run by Kate" to "run by Joe".
Q 24In which episode did Kate's actress contribute only her voice, reading a letter to Betty Jo and Steve?
The Valley Has a Baby
Paul Henning rushed the birth of Betty Jo's baby into season six's fourth episode so Kate could still be part of it.
Q 25What cartoon character did the actress who played Kate Bradley famously voice?
Betty Rubble
She was also an uncredited voice in many Warner Bros. cartoons and played Cousin Pearl Bodine on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Q 26Which relative of Jed Clampett did Kate's actress play in season one of The Beverly Hillbillies?
Cousin Pearl Bodine
She reprised the role for a brief cameo in that show's sixth season.
Q 27Who sang the Petticoat Junction theme song?
Curt Massey
He co-wrote it with Paul Henning; some budget DVDs replace it with generic bluegrass because the song is still copyrighted.
Q 28The Cannonball's motion shots were filmed on which line, based in Jamestown?
The Sierra Railroad
Its locomotive, Sierra No. 3, has appeared in more movies than any other engine, including Back to the Future Part III.
Q 29The full-size replica locomotive used for studio scenes was lent by a hotel in which city?
Portland, Oregon
Every episode credits "Train furnished by Barbary Coast, Hoyt Hotel"; the replica survives as the Emma Sweeny.
Q 30In which season did Petticoat Junction switch from black-and-white to color?
Three
Kate's dowdy farm-woman look was upgraded at the same time, complete with high heels.