Charles Lee Tilden

Who was Charles Lee Tilden?

Charles Lee Tilden was an attorney and businessman in the San Francisco Bay Area who served on the first Board of Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District. One of the first three parks in the District was named for him: Tilden Regional Park.

Tilden was born in the Sierra foothills town of Chile Gulch, Calaveras County on July 17, 1857 to Harmon J. Tilden and Mary Jane Lee. His father was a judge. The Tildens moved to San Francisco in 1865.

Tilden graduated from Lowell High School in 1874 and from the University of California, Berkeley in 1878. He received his law degree from Hastings College of Law in 1881. While attending the University of California, he joined a campus unit which was eventually incorporated into the California National Guard. His affiliation with the National Guard continued through the Spanish American War in which he participated. He left the Guard with the rank of major and was often addressed as "Major Tilden" for the remainder of his life.

Tilden married Lilly Mitchell on June 9, 1892. The Tildens resided in Alameda. Tilden Way at the southeast end of Alameda is named for him.