Henry Disston (May 24, 1819 – March 16, 1878) was an English American industrialist who founded the Keystone Saw Works in 1840 and developed the surrounding Tacony neighborhood of Philadelphia to build housing for his workers.

[5] By 1871, Disston's saw mill had outgrown its factory and he moved the business to the outlying neighborhood of Tacony, in what is now Northeast Philadelphia.

At the time, Tacony was a small outlying area of Philadelphia, but it was located near the railroad and the Delaware River, and provided Disston with room for his saw mill to grow.

In 1879, U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes visited Philadelphia and toured the Disston Saw Works factory.

He built a summer cottage for his wife and multiple business such as a bakery, a coal and brick yard, and a saw mill.

Despite his failing health, Disston generously supported the founding of a homeless shelter, Sunday Breakfast Rescue Mission.