Otto Partridge (1855 - 1930)
Otto Partridge was born in Hertforshire, England in 1855 and his family moved to the Isle of Man when he was a boy. He was educated at King William's College. At age fourteen, he apprenticed in the mercantile marine and at nineteen he and a younger brother sailed to San Francisco to meet with an elder brother and look for an opportunity to become involved with trading schooners. Instead, they signed on for the war between the United States and Mexico. Otto returned to England, fell heir to a legacy, and married his lifelong partner. They returned to California and established a fruit farm in the Santa Clara valley. In 1897, a friend of Otto's in Victoria [Francis Mawson Rattenbury] wrote him a plea for his partnership in a northern venture.1)
Partridge travelled north with $20,000 in currency hidden in a bale of ship builder's oakum. Together with a group of men looking for opportunities, he floated the Bennett Lake and Klondike Navigation Company. The Ora, Nora and Flora were three of the earliest steamers on the Yukon. The Bennett Lake and Klondike Navigation Co. ceased operation with the building of the WP&YR railway to Whitehorse. Partridge took over a sawmill at Millhaven and built a houseboat, for a residence, and a yacht called Ben-My-Chree.2)
Otto became involved in mining with Stanley McLellan who had a gold claim at the southern tip of Taku Arm. Otto provided supplies in return for a share in the mine.3) In 1911, a spring thaw started an avalanche that destroyed McLellan’s house, killing him and his wife. The Partridges were not harmed as they lived further down the valley. The claims could not be mined after that, so the Partridges increased the size of their garden to a small farm.4)
By 1912, the White Pass & Yukon Route boats stopping to drop off mail at Ben-My-Chree (girl of my heart in Manx) and picking up fresh vegetables. The site was beautiful and in 1916 Partridges signed an agreement to host tourist excursions. They gave tours of the house and garden, served tea, and told stories. They entertained over 9,000 tourists every year until 1930. Teddy Roosevelt and Lord and Lady Byng were among many well-known visitors. After Otto died, Frederick Niven wrote an article in the Canadian Home Journal that turned the story into a northern romance. White Pass bought the homestead and continued to run tours until the mid-1950s when the Yukon sternwheelers stopped running.5)