Henry Howard Houston (1820-1895) was a prominent Philadelphia businessman and philanthropist. He worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad beginning in 1851, and became a high-ranking executive. Houston convinced the Pennsylvania Railroad to run the west line to Chestnut Hill, opening in 1884. As a property developer, he helped establish the affluent neighborhoods of Chestnut Hill and Germantown. In 1883-1884 he built the Wissahickon Inn in Chestnut Hill, which later became Chestnut Hill Academy. Brothers G.W. and W.D. Hewitt designed his mansion, Druim Moir, in Chestnut Hill in 1885-1886. He also paid for the Hewitt brothers to design St. Martin-in-the-Fields church, built 1888-1889, in Chestnut Hill. He donated a building and property in Chestnut Hill to the Philadelphia Cricket Club. Sallie L. O. Smith is a descendant of Houston.
From the guide to the Sallie L. O. Smith Collection on the Henry H. Houston Estate, circa 1905-1996, (Chestnut Hill Historical Society)
