John W. Shute

Infobox Person
name= John Wright Shute


caption= Shute in 1903
birth_date= February 17 1840
birth_place= Montgomery County, New York
death_date= 1922
place_of_death= Hillsboro, Oregon
occupation= Banker
spouse= Elizabeth Constable
Mary E. Smith

John Wright Shute (February 17 1840-1922) was an American banker in the state of Oregon. The founder of the first bank in Washington County, Oregon, he is the namesake of Shute Park in Hillsboro, Oregon.

Early life

John Shute was born in Montgomery County, New York, to Lewis P. Shute and the former Eliza Jane Wright on February 17 1840."Portrait and Biographical Record of Portland and Vicinity Oregon. Containing original sketches of many well known citizens of the past and present". Chicago: Chapman Pub. Co., 1903. p. 381-2.] Of Dutch heritage, he grew up on the family and received a limited education in the family of eight children. In 1857, Shute moved to Kankakee, Illinois, and then later that year began the journey to the Oregon Territory.

Oregon

In January 1858, he arrived in Oregon after traveling by ship from New York City to the Isthmus of Panama and then by steamer to San Francisco and Portland. After arriving he worked on a farm in Washington County followed by farming in Eastern Oregon in the Walla Walla Valley. Shute then moved to Multnomah County where he ran a warehouse and mercantile with several partners. After a year he sold his stake in the business and purchased an 80 acre farm near Hillsboro, the county seat of Washington County. Shute married Elizabeth Constable in November 1867 in Washington County, and the couple would have three children.

Overtime he increased the size of his farm to convert|800|acre|km2 and in 1888 founded the First National Bank in Hillsboro. Starting with $50,000, he operated the bank as president until 1897 when he closed it. This bank was the first in Washington County.Armer, Christine. [http://blog.oregonlive.com/washingtoncounty/2007/12/voices_from_the_past_brings_pi.html Washington County Updates: 'Voices from the Past' brings pioneers alive.] The Oregonian, December 21 2007. Retrieved February 3 2008.] In 1893, the bank survived the Panic of 1893 and a run on the bank. After closing First National, he opened a private bank and was a major land holder in Hillsboro and the surrounding area.

He married a second time, to Mary E. Smith (1877 - 1968), with her bearing one child. After marrying his significantly younger second wife, local perception was that she married him for his money and that he only married her for her looks. In 1901, Shute donated land within the city limits for the creation of the first Catholic Church in Hillsboro. [http://www.stmatthewhillsboro.org/index.cfm?i=2188&mid=1000&id=23103 Our History.] St. Matthew Catholic Church. Retrieved on February 3 2008.] The following year the church was opened and named after St. Matthew. On December 21 1906, the City of Hillsboro purchased a 15 acre tract of land from Shute for $1,622, with the condition that the land be used as a park and named in his honor.Buan, Carolyn M. "This Far-Off Sunset Land: A Pictorial History of Washington County, Oregon". Donning Company Publishers, 1999. p. 106.] The city passed a levy to finance the purchase of its first park at 1.8 mills per assessed valuation. At the time the total assessed value in the city was just over $600,000.Park site sold to city by banker Shute in ‘06. "Hillsboro Argus", October 19, 1976.]

Later life and family

A Republican, Shute served as a county commissioner on several occasions. John Wright Shute died in 1922 and was buried at Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery. [http://files.usgwarchives.org/or/washington/cemeteries/hill-s-t.txttxt Hillsboro Pioneer Cemetery Inscriptions.] Cemeteries. Retrieved on June 12 2008.]

References

External links

* [http://www.venetiantheatre.com/web/about/default.asp Venetian Theatre]