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. Over time he increased the size of his farm to and in 1888 founded the First National Bank in Hillsboro. In 1893, the bank survived the
Panic of 1893 and a run on the bank. The following year the church was opened and named after St. Matthew. 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. In 1910, Shute was involved in a legal dispute over ownership of some land with John Foote, on old friend and former partner with Shute in a bank, and a third party. The third party claimed Shute and a brother of Foote were dominating Foote's life and exercising undue influence on his financial decisions. This third party, represented by
Samuel B. Huston, was the children of a family that allowed Foote to stay on their farm rent free for many years, and to which Foote deeded land to. The issue in the legal case was if Foote had retained control and the property was only to pass at his death, or if the land passed immediately to the children. The dispute made headlines as Foote was worth about $100,000 and Shute about $250,000 at the time. ==Later life and family==