Henry Winslow Corbett, an early pioneer and Portland businessman, was born 18 February 1827 in Westboro, Mass. His father was a mechanic who established the first edged tool factory in that part of the state. Henry left school at age thirteen to work with a storekeeper in New York state. He later served as a clerk at Williams Bradford & Co., a dry goods store. At age 23 he journeyed to Portland with funds provided by his employers. His voyage around Cape Horn on the ship Frances and Louise took six months to complete.

Henry W. Corbett arrived in Portland 4 March 1851. The new city, which was located on the banks of the Willamette River, had only 400 people. It is not clear whether the newly established merchandising business was wholly owned by Corbett or shared with Williams Bradford & Co. It was located at Fourth and Oak streets, on the second floor of a partially finished building. Henry slept on a bed under the counter, pulling up the stairs at night for added security.

The new business prospered. After fourteen months, Corbett returned to New York, where he remained for one year. An arrangement with Robert and Finley McLaren helped Corbett maintain business ties with Portland. Some months after his return to Portland, he dissolved that partnership and established a general merchandising business under his own name, H. W. Corbett . In 1871, Corbett eventually merged with Josiah Failing and Company, a wholesale general merchandising business that was founded by Josiah Failing and his son Henry in 1851, and the new business became Corbett, Failing & Co., which remained in operation until 1893. (The Failings also partnered with John A. Hatt, forming Failings and Hatt, from 1859-1871. When Josiah Failing died in 1864, the business used the name Failing and Hatt; the name was changed to Corbett, Failing & Co. in the 1871 merger.) Henry W. Corbett and Henry Failing also jointly bought the controlling interest in the First National Bank in 1867, and Corbett served as one of its executives for many years.

Transportation was another of Henry W. Corbett's business interests. He supported construction of the Northern Pacific Railway. Corbett served as director of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company which eventually became part of the Union Pacific Railroad. He also formed the Oregon-California Stage Company which carried mail and passengers between Portland and San Francisco in 1865. Corbett relinquished supervision of the route to his brother and Edward Failing in 1867. Corbett also served as a director of the City and Suburban Railway Company, as well as the Columbia River and Northern Railway Company, and was an officer of the Trinidad Asphalt Company.

Henry W. Corbett was briefly involved in 1899 with a proposal to provide electric power to the city by installing generators at the city reservoirs. Portland Public Power was formed to investigate the idea. While it was an interesting concept, the idea was never implemented.

A leader in Oregon's Republican Party, Corbett became interested in politics and served as Oregon's elected United States Senator from 1867-1873, succeeding James W. Nesmith. He was reappointed Senator on 6 March 1897 but lost the seat due to legal technicalities involving the new legislature. A 1901 bid for reelection failed. Corbett instead became vice president of the First National Bank, and then president for four years after Henry Failing's death. Corbett was also president of Security Savings and Trust Company from its inception, president of the Board of Trade, chairman of the Committee of One Hundred, and was active in the Chamber of Commerce and the First Presbyterian church. He was president of the Riverview Cemetery Company, and with that group involved in developing Portland's municipal water works. He also served as a director of the Portland Gas Company. His charitable contributions aided the Portland Academy, Pacific University, Portland Library, Portland Art Association, Y.M.C.A, Boys' and Girls' Aid Society, City Board of Charities, Homeopathic Hospital, and Presbyterian churches throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Henry W. Corbett was married twice. His first marriage to Caroline E. Jagger (1829-1865) of Albany, New York, took place in February 1853. They had two sons, Henry Jagger Corbett (1857-1895) and Hamilton F. Corbett (1860- 1884). Henry was married a second time in 1867 to Emma L. Ruggles (1846- 1936) of Worcester, Massachusetts. They had no children.

A home for the Corbett family was completed in December 1875. It was constructed in Portland at 825 SW Fifth Avenue, at the time considered the suburbs in the town of 14,000 people. Henry traveled to Europe, gathering information and sketc.hes on architectural styles which he turned over to W.H. Williams, a promising young architect who had graduated from Columbia College in New York. After many years the elegant home on its own city block became surrounded by businesses. Late in her life, Mrs. Corbett and the family cow refused to be intimidated by their new neighbors. However, after her death in 1936 the house was torn down to be replaced by the Greyhound bus depot.

Toward the end of Corbett's life he had became the target of blackmailers. In 1900 he loaned money to a young woman to pay the hospital bills incurred by her father, a pioneer Corbett knew by reputation. When the woman, Inez Peterson, continued to ask for funds, he refused. Her husband, E.E. Peterson alleged Corbett had formed an improper relationship with his wife, causing her to sue for divorce. He sued Corbett for alienation of affection, asking $100,000 in damages. Corbett hired Pinkerton's agency to conduct an investigation into the Peterson's backgrounds. Eventually it was determined the blackmailing scheme was instigated by Mrs. Peterson and her lawyer, who then dropped the case.

After a full and productive life, Henry W. Corbett passed away at daybreak, 31 March 1903. He was 76 years old. He had spent the prior day focused on his role as president of the Lewis and Clark Fair Association, later known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition. Recognizing his failing strength, he resolved to resign just eighteen hours before his death. Corbett's sons predeceased him so his grandson, Henry Ladd Corbett, came home from Harvard College to run the family business.

(Biography written by Gaye Richardson, October 2004, with revisions by Megan K. Friedel, November 2006.)