In an era well before "political correctness" entered the vocabulary, Dogpatch exceeded every stereotype of Appalachia. The hillbillies in Li'l Abner's town were poorer than poor. The houses were hopelessly ramshackle. Most Dogpatchers were dumber than dumb. The remainder were scoundrels and thieves. Most of the men were too lazy to work, yet Dogpatch women were desperate enough to chase them. One preferred to live with hogs. Those who farmed their "tarnip" crop watched turnip termites descend every year, locust-like, to devour the crop. In the midst of the Great Depression, lowly Dogpatch allowed the most hard-up Americans to laugh at yokels worse off than they were. In Al Capp’s own words Dogpatch was “an average stone-age community” nestled in a bleak valley, between two cheap and uninteresting hills, somewhere. To old friends, the denizens of Dogpatch will be old friends. To strangers, however, they will probably be strangers.

Once located between Jasper and Harrison, Arkansas, Dogpatch, U.S.A. mirrored the hillbilly town made famous in Al Capp's comic strip, Li'l Abner. At Dogpatch, U.S.A, visitors could meet their favorite characters, enjoy numerous rides, and take in the scenery of the beautiful Ozark Mountains. Whether exploring "Dogpatch Cave," the hideout of Hairless Joe and Lonesome Polecat, riding the rails across the Bottomless Canyon, or Trout Fishin' in Bluff Spring, Li'l Abner fans experienced the daily life of a "Dogpatcher."

Dogpatch, U.S.A. closed in the mid-1990s. Currently, there are no plans to reopen it.