Otto Partridge was a gold rush stampeder in 1898, however he never did make it to the Klondike. Otto emigrated to San Francisco from England and fought with the United States in its war against Mexico. In 1897 Partridge heard stories of men walking off ships in San Francisco with suitcases filled with gold from the Yukon goldfields. He knew his boat-building skills would be valuable in the north, so Otto, aged 42, went to Skagway Alaska. He crossed the Chilkoot Pass and travelled to Bennett, British Columbia. Bennett was a crucial stop for the goldseekers as it was the start of the lake and river system that led to Dawson City.

At Bennett Partridge founded the Bennett Lake and Klondike Navigation Company, and he built the first three stern-wheelers in the Yukon. After the railway was built to Whitehorse in 1899, Otto moved on to Milhaven Bay on Bennett Lake near Carcross, Yukon. By then Otto was accompanied by his wife Kate who crossed over the Chilkoot Pass to re-join him.. Kate Partridge kept a detailed dairy from 1898 to when her husband died in 1930. Today both Kate’s dairy and her organ are on display at the McBride Museum in Whitehorse. At Milhaven the Partridges built a small sailboat, named Ben-My-Chree, which they used for picnics and attending church in Atlin. Today the remains of the sailboat are lying on the shoreline on the south end of the Taku Arm.

At Milhaven Kate and Otto set up a sawmill and supplied railroad ties for the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad. Otto and Kate lived on a houseboat and during the short, intense northern summer Kate worked on cultivating flourishing flower and vegetable gardens. Contrary to the rough gold-rush lifestyle, Kate dressed in long quaint gowns with lace collars and hosted elegant formal teas. Kate was a talented musician - she owned a portable organ which she carried on her back when she crossed over the Chilkoot pass to Bennett. Their sawmill business ended shortly after the end of the gold rush. Otto then became interested in mining ventures and staked several claims with a partner, Ludwig Swanson. A prospector in the area, Stanley McLellan, had a promising gold find near Ben-My-Chree, high up a mountainside. Otto agreed to provide supplies for McLellan in exchange for a stake in the mine. In the summer of 1911, the Partridges brought their houseboat to McLellan’s stake and started a mining operation at the spot they named Ben-My-Chree. Otto grew up on the Isle of Man and the name Ben-My-Chree, Manx for “girl of my heart”, was a tribute to his wife.

Shortly before moving to Ben-My-Chree, the Partridges had been joined by Emily Dalton, a friend of Kate’s in England. She eventually became a partner in the mine and was a dutiful companion to the Partridges right up to the time they died. The Honourable Maurice Egerton, an English aristocrat who went on big game hunts in the area, also invested in the Ben-My-Chree mine. Today there is a lake just south of the Taku Arm that was named after Egerton. The glacial river that flows out at Ben-My-Chree was named after Ludwig Swanson. There is a creek off the West Arm of Bennett Lake that is named Partridge creek, and the Partridges named Milhaven bay.

The small Ben-My-Chree mine employed crews of between 10 and 60 men. Stanley and Anne McLellan lived in a small stone house high in the mountains and close to the mine, which was 5,000 feet above lake level. On October 5, 1911, tragedy struck. From 500 feet above them, from the crest of a hanging glacier 500 feet, an avalanche roared down and buried the Ben-My-Chree mine. The McLellans, who were peeling potatoes in their house, were killed instantly. The couple were then buried at Atlin.

After the mine accident, the Partridges, Dalton and Swanson decided to stop mining, build a homestead and plant flowers and vegetables in their spectacular wilderness valley. They built a large two storey home and a storage building which had two bedrooms upstairs for the gardeners. In the rich glacial silt in the valley, just south of the Yukon border, they cultivated two acres of formal flower gardens in the most unlikely wilderness setting. In flower beds arranged around a well kept lawn, 40 different varieties of flowers flourished during the short northern summer and grew to amazing heights. The pansies and poppies were 5 inches across. The delphiniums were 10 feet high. The Partridges grew rhubarb for what was to be become their famous Partridge wine. There are a couple of theories about why the growing season was so intense in their small northern valley. One theory is that there is thermal activity in the area, another is that a pocket of warm humid air persists in the valley. Whatever the source, there definitely was a unique micro-climate at Ben-My-Chree that enabled Kate and Otto to buck the typically short northern growing season.

Starting around 1912, stern-wheelers stopped at Ben-My-Chree to bring mail and supplies and stock up on fresh vegetables from Ben-My-Chree. In 1916, Otto entered into an agreement with the British and Yukon Navigation Company to bring tourists down the lake from Carcross to visit the gardens. Stories of Ben-My-Chree’s fascinating gardens then began to spread. In June 1917, the British and Yukon Navigation company launched the steamer Tutshi. The new vessel was 167 feet long and held 110 passengers. The stern-wheeler SS Tutshi, with room for 110 passengers, started to make trips from Carcross to Ben-My-Chree twice a week. Unlike other BYN sternwheelers, the Tutshi was specifically built for lake travel. The boat had a larger deck area for passengers and a keel instead of a flat hull. The vessel transported freight and mail, but it also offered cruise ship-like amenities.  In its peak year, the steamer carried more than 9,000 passengers on excursions to Ben-My-Chree and Atlin. The SS Tutshi was destined to travel this route for almost 40 years. 

The scenery at the small valley at Ben-My-Chree entranced visitors with the immensity of its natural grandeur, the towering snow-capped mountain spires, a rushing glacial river, a long white sandy delta, a turquoise colored lake, with an awe-inspiring deep blue glacier tucked close in behind. It was the paradox on this incredible glacial beauty, combined with a wide assortment of flourishing flowers, that created the magic of Ben-My-Chree. A houseboy in a formal white shirt received visitor from the S.S. Tutshi at the foot of the gangplank. Kate, dressed in long formal gown, would welcome visitors at the garden gate and Otto would take them on a tour of the gardens. When the guests were brought to the elegant drawing room. Kate entertained them with organ music and Otto, a gifted story teller, captivated visitors with stories from the gold-rush days. The Union Jack and the Stars and Stripes hung side by side on the wall in the receiving room, and Kate would lead a sing-along. The visitors sang the American anthem and “God Save the King” before sipping the famous Partridge rhubarb wine. After a couple of hours the visitors would begin the return trip to Carcross, quite affected by their experience.

The White Pass and Yukon Route tours during the 1920s were geared primarily towards wealthier travellers. Atlin had become a tourist hot spot for the social elite of the time. Atlin tourists included politicians, figures from the entertainment world, industrialists, and members of the British aristocracy. For about a decade, during the course of the 1920s, Ben-My-Chree was considered a key place to visit amongst the social elite of that time. Many wealthy people, including the Prince of Wales, President Roosevelt, Lord and Lady Byng, Alma Gluck, the Governor General, and movie stars from the silent film days made a very long trip just to visit Ben-My-Chree.

Otto died suddenly in Whitehorse in 1930, just before the tourist season began. His wife survived him by just 5 months. The couple were buried in Whitehorse. But, even without the Partridges presence, the magic of Ben-My-Chree continued on for another twenty years. The stock market crash of 1929 had an effect on northern tourism, but the impact was slow in coming. Seven years passed before White Pass cut back their operations to Atlin, but the SS Tutshi continued to travel to Ben-My-Chree. After the Partridges passed on in 1930, the WP&YR bought the acreage and buildings from the B.C. government, who had permitted the Partridges to squat. The White Pass and Yukon Route cared for the gardens and arranged for people to continue the tradition of greeting visitors. The SS Tutshi made its last trip to Ben-My-Chree in 1956. White Pass lost interest in the property at about that time.

Today the wilderness is slowly reclaiming the area. The old homestead and several other buildings still stand, surrounded by firs planted by the Partridges as a wind break. The old mine assay building, the sail shed, a two story log work shop, and the horse stables remain. The wishing well is still there. The arctic poppies still grow in abundence, along with harebell, lupine and daisies. Very few people travel to the area, the long distance down a windy northern lake make the area very difficult to access. Now the property is a private seasonal residence.

Note by webmaster: My research on Ben-My-Chree is a continuing project. Contributions of information are welcome.