Leon Forrest Higgins was born in Ellsworth on April 29, 1870, the son of a lumberman and contractor in that city.
Educated in the public schools of Bangor and Brewer, he tried his hand at several different enterprises before becoming the successful head of his own insurance business.
Elected to the Board of Aldermen in Brewer in 1900, he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives in 1913. He was elected State Senator from Penobscot County in 1917 and reelected in 1919, during which term he served as President of the Senate.
A successful businessman, Higgins was one of the incorporators of the Brewer Savings Bank and a member of numerous societies and organizations.