 He was the developer of "Wissahickon Heights," an exclusive community in western Chestnut Hill, and built the original structures used by Chestnut Hill Academy and the Philadelphia Cricket Club.He also served as a trustee of the University of Pennsylvania and was part of the founding class of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity (Pennsylvania Iota chapter) along with Edgar Fahs Smith and Otis H. Kendall.Houston married Sallie Sherrerd (nee Bonnell), and they had four children, Sallie Bonnell Houston, Henry Jr., Samuel Frederic Houston, and Gertrude Houston Woodward.