Henry S. Rowe
{{short description|American politician}}
{{use mdy dates|date=June 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Henry S. Rowe
| image = Henry Spoor Rowe.jpg
| office = 33rd Mayor of Portland, Oregon
| term_start = 1900
| term_end = 1902
| predecessor = W. A. Storey
| successor = George Henry Williams
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1851|10|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = Bolivar, New York, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1914|3|20|1851|10|11|mf=y}}
| death_place = Sauvie Island, near Portland, Oregon, U.S.
| party = Republican
| profession = Businessman, politician
}}
Henry Spoor Rowe (October 11, 1851 – March 20, 1914) was an American businessman and politician. He served as the Mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 1900 to 1902.
Background
Rowe was born in Bolivar, New York, on October 11, 1851{{cite book|last=Gaston|first=Joseph|title=Portland, Oregon, its history and builders: in connection with the antecedent explorations, discoveries, and movements of the pioneers that selected the site for the great city of the Pacific, Volume 2|year=1911|publisher=S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.|pages=314–316|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XvYUAAAAYAAJ&q=Henry+Spoor+Rowe&pg=PA314}} (another source says October 18),{{cite news|title=He Has Made No Pledges; Mayor-Elect Rowe On His Future Plans|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=June 7, 1900|page=12|url=http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1900-06-07/ed-1/seq-12/|accessdate=September 30, 2016}} one of the six children of John S. Rowe and Hulda Peck Rowe. The family moved to Wisconsin and Henry Rowe began working for the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad as a telegraph operator at the age of thirteen.{{cite book|title=Who's who in the Northwest, Volume 1|year=1911|publisher=Western Press Association|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcAUAAAAYAAJ&q=henry+rowe+born+%22october+11%2C+1851%22&pg=PT57}} He held numerous positions in the railroad industry, working primarily in Kansas. Rowe met Agnes Hefly in Kansas; they were married and had two sons. Rowe moved to Oregon in 1880, initially working for the steamship division of Henry Villard's newly established Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company.
Political career
After becoming active in politics at the county and state level, Rowe was elected Mayor of Portland, Oregon, as a member of the Republican Party, defeating the incumbent W. A. Storey.{{cite news|title=Both Parties Win: Republican Carry the City and County Offices, But Lose on the Legislature|url=http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1900-06-06/ed-1/seq-3/|accessdate=August 5, 2013|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=June 6, 1900|page=3}} He was elected on June 4, 1900,{{cite web|url=http://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/4968|title=Directory of Current and Past Elected Officials: Mayors of Portland|access-date=November 12, 2021|publisher=Auditor's Office, City of Portland, Oregon|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121123129/http://www.portlandoregon.gov/auditor/article/4968|archive-date=January 21, 2021|url-status=dead}} and took office on July 2, 1900.{{cite news|title=New Officers Are In|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=July 3, 1900|page=8|url=http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1900-07-03/ed-1/seq-8/|accessdate=June 19, 2016}} During Rowe's term, Portland's first Board of Park Commissioners was established.{{cite web|title=1852-1900|url=http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?a=95955&c=39473|work=About Portland Parks & Recreation|accessdate=December 2, 2011}} Rowe also served as president of the Board of Fire Commissioners and on the city's Water Committee. He is noted for his interest in developing Oregon's scenic attractions and also for reducing city expenditures.{{Cite OGN|7th|page=807}}
Later career
Rowe returned to the railroad industry after his term as Portland's mayor. He was also involved in the banking and real estate industries. Rowe later went into business with Lee Holden, a former Portland Fire Chief. Rowe and Holden constructed the Rhododendron Inn near Mount Hood in 1905.{{cite web|title=Rhododendron, Oregon|url=http://mounthoodhistory.com/towns/rhododendron.html|work=MountHoodHistory.com|accessdate=December 2, 2011}}{{cite web|last=Kuechle|first=Jeff|title=Community profile: RHODODENDRON|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/realestate/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/homes_real_estate/123757530319420.xml&coll=7|work=The Oregonian|accessdate=December 2, 2011|date=March 22, 2009}} A post office was established nearby in 1909; the town was christened "Rowe" in his honor, but the name was eventually changed to Rhododendron, Oregon.
Rowe died on March 20, 1914, of heart disease at a duck farm{{cite news|title=H. S. Rowe Dies Suddenly: Ex-Mayor of Portland Drops Dead at His Duck Farm|newspaper=St. Helens Mist|date=March 20, 1914|page=1|url=http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/2004260419/1914-03-20/ed-1/seq-1/|accessdate=June 19, 2016}} he owned on Sauvie Island.{{cite news|title=H. S. Rowe Buried|newspaper=The Morning Oregonian|date=March 23, 1914|page=16|url=http://oregonnews.uoregon.edu/lccn/sn83025138/1914-03-23/ed-1/seq-16/|accessdate=June 19, 2016}} He is buried in Lone Fir Cemetery.{{cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Lone Fir Cemetery|url={{NRHP url|id=07000824}}|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=December 2, 2011|year=2007|at=Section 8, p. 21}}
References
{{Commons category}}
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box|
title=Mayor of Portland, Oregon|
before=W. A. Storey|
years=1900–1902|
after=George Henry Williams
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Mayors of Portland, Oregon}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Henry S.}}
Category:Mayors of Portland, Oregon
Category:Businesspeople from New York (state)
Category:Burials at Lone Fir Cemetery
Category:19th-century American businesspeople