The two-year-old orange tree, which was a novelty in Northern California at the time, was purchased in 1856 by Judge Joseph Lewis in the city of Sacramento and planted at the western approach to the bridge.

[2] As the years passed and the tree flourished, growing to a height of over 60 feet (18 m), it was a favorite attraction of miners.

James Edward Huse, a crane operator with Bigge construction was chosen to move the Mother Orange in 1964 due to his ancestors’ involvement in transporting the tree originally.

The tree's survival proved that the citrus industry could thrive in the colder climate of Northern California, encouraging many people to grow oranges in the area around Oroville, although the vast majority produced in the region are of the navel orange variety instead.

In 1998, a severe frost struck and the tree stopped bearing fruit for a number of years.