| Van Banks DeLashmutt | |
| Office: | 27th Mayor of Portland, Oregon |
| Term Start: | 1888 |
| Term End: | 1891 |
| Predecessor: | John Gates |
| Successor: | William S. Mason |
| Constituency: | Portland, Oregon |
| Birth Date: | July 27, 1842 |
| Birth Place: | Burlington, Iowa |
| Death Place: | Spokane, Washington |
| Nationality: | American |
| Party: | Republican |
Van Banks DeLashmutt (July 27, 1842 – October 4, 1921) served as mayor of Portland, Oregon, from 1888 to 1891.[1]
Van B. De Lashmutt was born on July 27, 1842, in Burlington, Iowa.[2] His family journeyed over the Oregon Trail in 1852 and settled in Polk County, Oregon.[2] He then worked as a printer in Salem, Oregon, for Asahel Bush before moving to California.[2] At the start of the American Civil War he was in California and joined the Union Army in 1861, serving in the Third California regiment guarding the mail routes.[2] After he left the Army he returned to Oregon and settled in Portland.[2]
In Portland, he joined The Oregonian newspaper in June 1865 as a compositor.[2] De Lashmutt married Maria Kelly in 1868, and they had four children, with their residence at Fourteenth and Columbia.[2] He established a farm near Hillsboro, the Witch Hazel Farm, which became famous for his horses and race tracks.[2] There he raised thoroughbreds and raced them on both a and track, which eventually became the community of Witch Hazel.[2] In business, he helped start the Oregon National Bank and the Metropolitan Savings Bank, and he served as president of both banks.[2]
On May 2, 1888, De Lashmutt was appointed as mayor of Portland after the death of Mayor John Gates.[3] He was then elected to the position on June 18, 1888, and served until 1891, when William S. Mason took office.[1] He became the Bank of Albina's first president in 1892.[4]
De Lashmutt left Portland for Spokane, Washington, to mine.[2] He died there on October 4, 1921, at the age of 79.[2] At the time of his death, he had been living in Spokane for more than 20 years.[4]