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 .5 miles (0.80 km) and 1 mile (1.6 km) 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]