Bio of CHUTE, Richard (b.1820), Hennepin Co., MN
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EXTRACTED FROM: History of Minneapolis, Gateway to the Northwest; 
Chicago-Minneapolis, The S J Clarke Publishing Co, 1923; Edited by: Rev. 
Marion Daniel Shutter, D.D., LL.D.; Volume I - Shutter (Historical); 
volume II - Biographical; volume III - Biographical
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RICHARD CHUTE - Vol III, pg 225-229
Inseparably interwoven with the history of Minneapolis from pioneer times is the
name of Richard Chute, a distinguished citizen, who aided largely in planting
the seeds of civilization on the western frontier and in laying the foundations
for the present highly advanced civic standards of the city. He was born on the
23d of September, 1820, in Cincinnati, Ohio, his parents being James and Martha
(Hews) Chute. The father traced his ancestry back through an old Norman line to
Alexander Chute, who resided at Taunton, England, in 1268, and his wife was a
descendant of Captain Roger Clapp, who in 1664 was commandant of the Castle, now
known as Fort Independence in Boston Harbor. Like his hardy Norman for­bears
Richard Chute possessed in notable measure those qualities which marked the
pioneer settlers and empire builders and his career was characterized by
re­markable executive ability and forceful personality. His father was a teacher
and minister, who in 1831 established his home at Fort Wayne, Indiana, where he
passed away, while the death of his wife occurred there a few years later, thus
leaving Richard Chute an orphan when a lad of fifteen years.
Richard Chute, when but twelve years of age, had entered the employ of S. & H.
Hanna, who were traders with the Indians, dealing in furs, and for a number of
years Richard Chute continued in active connection with the fur trade and became
prominently associated with the affairs of the middle west territory and its
various Indian tribes. In 1844 he was sent to build a post on the Minne­sota
river, at Good Roads, a village situated about eight miles above Fort Snelling,
and it was at that time that he visited St. Anthony Falls, in the history of the
development and conservation of which he later played such a prominent part. He
readily recognized the opportunities and possibilities of this section and
predicted the founding and growth of a city on the present site of Minneapolis.
The following year, however, he returned to Fort Wayne and became a partner in
the firm of Ewing, Chute & Company, fur dealers, while later his connection with
the fur trade was through his partnership in the firm of P. Chateau, Jr., &
Company.
While thus promoting his business interests Mr. Chute was also studying the
conditions of the west and was a witness of many of the historic treaties
formulated between the government and the native tribes, including the treaty
made at Orange City, Iowa, in 1842, with the tribes of the Sac and Fox; the
treaty entered upon in Washington in 1846 when the Winnebagos sold the "neutral
ground" of Iowa; and in 1851 he was also present at Traverse des Sioux and
Mendota when the Sioux Indians concluded their treaties whereby the lands of
Minnesota were opened to settlement. It was Mr. Chute who inaugurated the system
of individual owner­ship with a dissolution of tribal relations among the
Indians, with the result that the Ottawas and Chippewas of Michigan exchanged
tribal lands west of the Mississippi for lands in severalty in Michigan, thus
becoming citizens of that commonwealth.
With a remembrance of his favorable impression concerning St. Anthony Falls and
this section of the country on the upper Mississippi, Mr. Chute returned in 1854
and engaged in the real estate business. He formed a partnership with John S.
Prince and the firm purchased an interest in the property which controlled the
water power, so that through the succeeding quarter of a century, covering the
most active period of his career, Mr. Chute was closely identified with the
development of these enterprises which constituted the nucleus of a great city.
The company with which he operated was formed in 1856 under the name of the St.
Anthony Falls Water Power Company and Mr. Chute became agent and manager,
continuing in that capacity until 1868, when he was elected to the presidency
and so remained until the property was sold to James J. Hill and others in 1880.
During this time Mr. Chute superintended the building of a dam and the erection
of many mills, fac­tories and sawmills. In 1856 the citizens of Minneapolis
raised seven million, six hundred thousand dollars, which was entrusted to
Richard Chute, R. P. Upton and Edward Murphy to be used in clearing the channel
to Fort Snelling, and following the accomplishment of this task fifty-two
steamboats arrived at the falls the fol­lowing year as the result of the opening
of navigation. It was also in 1856 that Mr. Chute formed a partnership with his
brother, Dr. Samuel Chute, which business relation was severed only by death. In
November, 1856, Richard Chute went to Washington at the request of Henry M.
Rice, the delegate to congress from Minne­sota, to give his assistance in
securing a railroad land grant and with the coopera­tion of H. T. Welles a
sufficient grant was obtained on the last day of the session to enable a company
to construct fourteen miles of railroad in the territory of Minne­sota. Mr.
Chute became a charter director in several of the railroad companies that were
organized and was especially identified with the promotion of what was known as
the Great Northern road. At the time when the water power of the city was
threatened by the receding of the falls he gave valuable service in securing
their preservation. After large sums of money had been expended it became
neces­sary to ask government assistance and Mr. Chute was sent to Washington for
that purpose. After several years of effort he obtained an appropriation in 1870
and the services of a government engineer, thus insuring the permanent
conservation of the great water power.
Mr. Chute has left many other memorials of his public service and devotion to
the general welfare. There is perhaps no one among the pioneers of the city who
contributed more largely to the permanent development and upbuilding of
Minne­apolis. He it was who introduced the system of boulevarding the streets
and the plan for numerical streets and residences, while he added much to the
beauty of Minneapolis in the planting of three thousand shade trees along its
thorough­fares in 1858. In 1862 Governor Ramsey appointed Mr. Chute special
quartermaster of the troops sent to Fort Ripley and later he became assistant
quartermaster of the state with the rank of lieutenant colonel. From 1863 until
the close of the war he served as United States provost marshal for Hennepin
county. With the educational interests of Minnesota he was also identified,
being made a regent of the State University in 1876 and serving as treasurer of
that institution for several years, or until he resigned in 1882. The early
political endorsement of Mr. Chute was given to the whig party and he became one
of the twenty organizers of the republican party in Minneapolis in 1855 at a
meeting which was held in the Metho­dist church and over which Governor William
R. Marshall presided. In the work of the church Mr. Chute also bore his full
share and was one of the six charter members of the Andrew Presbyterian church,
in which he served for many years as an elder. He possessed keen mentality,
undaunted energy and enthusiasm and his marked devotion to the general good made
him a most influential factor in public affairs. It is said that "he possessed a
commanding presence and was an attractive and distinguished figure among the men
of his time."
It was in 1850 that Richard Chute was united in marriage to Miss May Eliza Young
and they became parents of five children: Charles Richard, Minnie Olive, Mary
Welcome, William Young and Grace Fairchild. The eldest son was for many years
associated with the Chute Brothers Company but since 1894 has resided in New
York city. William Y. Chute was born in Minneapolis, September 13, 1863, and was
educated in the State University and in the Massachusetts Institute of
Technology at Boston. He is now prominently connected with the real estate
interests of the city and has served as president of the Minneapolis Real Estate
Board. He belongs to the Minneapolis Club and has been president of the
Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts, while his religious faith is that of the
Christian Science church. In 1906 he married Edith Mary Pickburn of London,
England, and they have three children: Mary Grace, Marchette Gaylord and
Beatrice. Under present-day conditions the son is carrying on the splendid work
instituted by the father and the name of Chute continues a most honored one in
connection with the history of Minneapolis.