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I don’t know where the Peanuts kids live. I think that, originally, I thought of them as living in these little veteran’s developments, where Joyce and I first lived when we got married out in Colorado Springs. Now I don’t think about it at all. My strip has become so abstract and such a fantasy that I think it would be a mistake to point out a place for them to live.
~ Charles M. Schulz (1992)[1]


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The comic strip from February 15, 1957, in which it states that Lucy won the Outstanding Fussbudget award from Hennepin County

The setting of the Peanuts comic strip is a matter of dispute throughout its history and amongst fans.

In the strip from June 9, 1955 an embarrassed Schroeder admits that he always thought that Beethoven was a native of Minnesota. It only makes sense for him to assume his idol was from his home state. In a comic strip from February 15, 1957 it is stated that the characters live in Hennepin County, which is in Minnesota. Also, there is snow during the winter in the children's hometown, suggesting it should be near St. Paul or Minneapolis, where Charles Schulz grew up.

Image (non-canonical) of Linus hugging a sign that says Pinetree Corners, pop. 3260.

From Security is a Thumb and a Blanket.

In the 1963 picture book Security is a Thumb and a Blanket, there is a drawing of Linus hugging a sign that reads, "Pinetree Corners, Population 3,260." Schulz stated that he put it in as an "inside joke" and said that was not where the characters lived.

James street is another famous name about Peanuts Setting. In the strip from August 14, 1952, Schroeder said his home address is 1770 James Street. The strip from April 16, 1981 proved it further, the local school name was shown "James Street Elementary School" when Linus entering it. However, the strip from January 22, 1986 shows Charlie Brown and Sally riding a school bus with the upper portion of the letters PINEC visible on the side of the bus. In the strip from January, 1990. Sally and Linus were riding the school bus to "Pinecrest Elementary School" as usual. That means characters may have changed their school over the years, or all of the names are just an "inside joke" like "Pinetree Corners".

Since the late 1950s, the characters sometimes will go to the beach during the summer time, which means that the characters should live not far from the sea or beach.

In the early 1960s, a character named 555 95472 was introduced whose last name, 95472, was named by his home's ZIP code according to the comic strips from October 1, 1963. This number is the ZIP code of Sebastopol, California (where Charles Schulz's office was located).

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The strip from August 25, 1957 shows the Peanuts characters come to beach many times.

In You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, one of the calls on Snoopy's radio show is a caller who gets the wrong number and means to call someone from Saint Paul. It is most likely they got Snoopy's hotline instead as they might be based in that area as well. Though this is, like others mentioned, in a television special and might not be considered canon to the comic strip.

However, Spike's frequent visits from Needles, California, would seem to imply a location somewhat nearby. Similarly, in a 1975 series of strips, Spike hitchhikes back to Needles after visiting Snoopy, and when his sign for Needles is ignored, he changes it to Boston. While Needles is not in a direct path from Sebastopol (or Santa Rosa) to Boston, it is in nearly the opposite direction if he is leaving Minnesota.

In 1992, Schulz states his stripes had became "so abstract and such a fantasy" that he couldn't give a accurate place for characters to live.[1]

In the 1992 special It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown a sports flag with "St. Paul" (Capital of Minnesota) on it can be seen in Charlie Brown's bedroom. Though this is in a television special and therefore cannot be considered canon to the comic strip.

In the strip for January 20, 1999 strip, Sally's new philosophy is "We'll always have Minneapolis".

The ending of the segment "Yuletide Greetings from Linus" in the 2002 special Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales has Lucy giving Linus back an envelope with the card that he wrote to a new girl in his school in it because the address he wrote did not exist. If one looks carefully at the envelope, the writing reads "Sparkyville (in nondescript writing), USA." "Sparky" was a nickname given to Schulz at an early age.

The Peanuts Book (2020) theorizes that setting of the Peanuts comics is a mixture of areas where Schulz once lived, especially Californian and Minneapolis, as it displays various enviormental characteristics of the American Midwest in a small town.[2]

It can be argued that Peanuts has greater associations with Santa Rosa, California (where Charles Schulz's new office was) than Minneapolis or St. Paul (especially after Camp Snoopy in that area changed sponsors).

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 Rick, M., & Groth, G. (1992). "Nemo: the Classic Comics Library Number 31", p7, Fantagraphics Books
  2. Beecroft, S., & Colbert, S. (2020). "The Peanuts Book: A Visual History of the Iconic Comic Strip", Van Haren Publishing
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