Luther F. Tilden

Luther Fuller Tilden (1834-1929) was a pioneer, community leader, and cultural icon of western Orange County, Florida. Tilden owned large tracts of land south of Lake Apopka, where his family's farms and properties were a sizeable portion of the economy. In his early childhood Luther's father, Isaac Tilden, moved the family to Upstate New York. At the age of 18, Luther's father died, leaving him with an inheritance that he then sold to his older brother. Upon doing so, Tilden left New York for Illinois, settling in Vienna. Illinois pleased Tilden to an extent that he wrote his family in New York, successfully urging them to follow him west. Tilden married and saw the birth of the first three of his children in Illinois. At first, tomatoes were his primary crop. In the proceeding years, citrus became an economic centerpiece of Central Florida and Tilden reconfigured his farms to cultivate it. The Bank of Winter Garden is an example of a local organization headed by Tilden.

A street in Winter Garden is named for the Tilden family.

Tilden and his family were honored in a Winter Garden Heritage Foundation exhibit in 2022.

Tildenville, a Census-designated Place, still bears his name. Various local businesses and institutions use the name, such as Tildenville Elementary School.