<P> Earl Hamner's rural childhood growing up in the unincorporated community of Schuyler, Virginia, provided the basis for the setting and many of the storylines of The Waltons . His family and the community provided many life experiences which aided in the characters, values, area, and human - interest stories of his books, movies, and television series . Hamner provided the voice - over of the older John - Boy, usually heard at the beginning and end of each episode . </P> <P> John - Boy Walton's fictional alma mater, Boatwright University, is patterned after Richmond College, which became part of the University of Richmond on Boatwright Drive near Westham Station in The West End of Richmond, Virginia, about seventy miles east of Schuyler . </P> <P> The town of Walton's Mountain was built in the rear area of the Warner Bros. Studios, but the mountain itself was part of the range opposite Warner studios in Burbank, California . The Waltons' house facade was built in the back of the Warner Brothers lot . After the series concluded, the set was destroyed . For the reunion shows, a replica Waltons' house facade was built on the Here Come the Brides set on the Columbia Ranch studio, now part of the Warner Brothers studios . The Waltons' house is still used as scenery at Warner Brothers . For example, it served as the Dragonfly Inn on The Gilmore Girls . </P> <P> Some sources indicate CBS put the show on its fall 1972 schedule in response to congressional hearings on the quality of television . Backlash from a 1971 decision to purge most rural - oriented shows from the network lineup may have also been a factor . The network gave The Waltons an undesirable timeslot--Thursdays at 8 p.m., opposite two popular programs: The Flip Wilson Show on NBC and The Mod Squad on ABC . "The rumor was that they put it against Flip Wilson and The Mod Squad because they didn't think it would survive . They thought,' We can just tell Congress America doesn't want to see this'," Kami Cotler, who played Elizabeth Walton, said in a 2012 interview . However, CBS had enough faith in the show to devise a full - page newspaper ad flanked with the show's positive reviews, urging people to watch the show . This ad was attributed to saving The Waltons, causing the ratings to radically increase . </P>

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