The Mammoth Orange has never picked its own address. Highway 99 did it both times.
The 20-foot stand started as a refreshment stop along Highway 99 in Chowchilla, built in 1947 according to the Fresno Business Journal. When the new alignment of 99 bypassed town, the stand took the Mammoth Orange name and moved to the spot most people remember, near Avenue 22 1/2 on the Fairmead side. A second round of freeway work forced it out around 2007. It has since been rebuilt on the grounds of the Fossil Discovery Center of Madera County, just south of town.
That history gives a Saturday drive a point. The stand was the last of its kind still operating on 99, and Pecina has said that once 99 was realigned there was no longer a way to reach it from across the highway.
A Stand That Followed the Road Out of Town
Historian Dan Carrion of E Clampus Vitus wrote in Sierra News Online's History Mystery series that at least 16 giant orange stands once stood along Highway 99. The Fairmead stand was the last one still operating. Carrion also pointed out a coincidence that reads like a setup. Under the old Avenue 22 1/2 site there are probably mammoth remains, which makes the name literal.
That is because of the discovery next door. In 1993, workers at the Fairmead landfill turned up a Columbian mammoth tusk, and the excavation that followed has produced more than 15,000 fossils. The Fossil Discovery Center describes the site as one of the largest middle-Pleistocene digs in North America. The museum's entrance faces the landfill across the road.
The stand's path since 1947 looks like this:
- 1947. The stand opens on Highway 99 in Chowchilla.
- After the bypass. It becomes the Mammoth Orange and moves to Avenue 22 1/2 near Fairmead.
- Around 2007. Freeway expansion forces it out. It goes into storage in the City of Chowchilla.
- Sold to the paleontology foundation. The San Joaquin Valley Paleontology Foundation buys it from the city.
- September 23, 2023. A ribbon-cutting dinner opens the restored stand at the Fossil Discovery Center.
Two Thousand Fifty Dollars In, Fifty Thousand Out
Steve Newvine, writing for Merced County Events, reported that local media accounts from the time put the foundation's price at $2,050, paid to the City of Chowchilla. The city got its storage space back. The foundation got, in Newvine's words, the centerpiece of a new era for the center.
The purchase was the cheap part. The Business Journal reported that the Chowchilla, Madera and Madera Sunrise Rotary clubs put $50,000 into materials and some labor, with volunteers donating the rest of the time. KMPH reported that the top half of the orange is original. Steve King, a welder and Rotarian, built the bottom section. Madera Rotarians King and Don Warnock were later honored for the hours they spent on the project.
The idea came from the late Lori Pond, a member of the center's board. Pecina told Newvine that Pond made the appeal to the City of Chowchilla to acquire the stand. The Mammoth Orange came back through a city sale, three Rotary clubs and a volunteer museum board.
The 2023 ribbon-cutting served a Smashburger meal out of the orange. Tickets were $25 for center members and $30 for everyone else.
What the Stand Is Doing This Fall
Whether anyone is grilling burgers out of the orange this month is the open question. The center has said more than once that it wants a vendor to take over the stand on a contract. Pecina told ABC10 in 2022 that the center was looking for a new hamburger vendor. She told KMPH she thought a working stand would be a big draw for the public off the highway.
I could not confirm a vendor for fall 2026, so the sensible plan treats the stand as the exhibit and any food as a bonus.
| Question | What's confirmed | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Museum hours | The center's ticket page lists Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Older coverage listed Thursday too, so call before you go |
| Food from the Orange | Restored in 2023; a Smashburger dinner opened it | Whether a vendor is operating now |
| Fall events | The City of Chowchilla lists its Halloween Treat Trail for October 24 | Start time and location on the city's events page |
| Fossil Fest | The center has run a fall Fossil Fest in past years | 2026 dates on the center's events page |
The center is at 19450 Avenue 21 1/2, and the number is 559-665-7107. October 24 falls on a Saturday this year, which puts the Treat Trail on the same day the museum is open.
A Saturday That Fits Around It
Inside the museum there is a life-sized Columbian mammoth reproduction, a paleontology lab and a mock dig pit for kids. The saber-toothed cat, California's state fossil, is part of the collection. Visit Yosemite | Madera County also hides a trading card for Mr. Mead, the center's saber-toothed cat, as part of its Fossils to Falls road trip.
That road trip's route suggests the next stop. Valley Pistachio Country Store is on the list for nuts and dried fruit. The same route names Madera wine-trail tasting rooms including Quady Winery and San Joaquin Wine Company, though those are a drive north and hours vary, so they belong to a longer day.
Back in town, the local restaurant lists tend to name Farnesi's Steakhouse, Orchard Bar & Grill and Colima's Street Tacos. The Chowchilla Taco Shop is at 1346 Robertson Boulevard. After the museum, any of them works for a late lunch.
The City of Chowchilla's own calendar covers the rest of October, and the Chamber of Commerce, at 137 S 3rd St, keeps its own event list and takes calls at 559-665-5603.
The stand that Highway 99 pushed out of Chowchilla is now a Friday-through-Sunday stop with a saber-toothed cat and a mammoth reproduction for company. Call the center at 559-665-7107 before you drive out, and ask whether anyone is serving from the orange that weekend.
If you have a memory of the old stand on 99, or a photo of it, the team at Concierge Homes would like to hear it. Contact us and tell us what you remember.
