Henry Warren Austin, Sr. was born on August 1, 1828 in Skaneateles, New York. He moved to Chicago in 1860 to accept a position in the Chicago office of a hardware company. In 1866 he established his own village, Austin, on 280 acres of land he owned, donating portions of land to the community for a park and public library.

As a member of the Illinois State legislature he introduced a bill to prohibit the sale of alcohol.

Henry W. Austin, Sr. and his wife Martha had three children: Henry, Jr., Edna and Hannah, who died as a child. Mr. Austin died on December 24, 1889, in Oak Park, Illinois.