[1] 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.

[1] 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.

[7] Rowe also served as president of the Board of Fire Commissioners and on the city's Water Committee.

[10][11] 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.

[8] Rowe died on March 20, 1914, of heart disease at a duck farm[12] he owned on Sauvie Island.