In 2023, the No. 1 vote-getter, the Chippewa Valley Museum (1204 E. Half Moon Drive, Eau Claire), and the No. 3 vote-getter, the Wisconsin Logging Museum formerly known as the Paul Bunyan Logging Camp (1110 E. Half Moon Drive, Eau Claire), located adjacent to each other in Carson Park, officially announced their merger. The merger makes perfect sense given their exhibits are so pertinent to Chippewa Valley history, for which Eau Claire in 1858 became a hub of the Wisconsin logging industry due to the abundance of white pine trees. The second-place vote-getter, the Jacob Leinenkugel Brewing Company (124 E. Elm St., Chippewa Falls) was founded by the original Jake Leinenkugel in 1867, just about a decade after the lumber industry began to grow in the Valley. Obviously, those lumberjacks needed a brewski after chopping all that wood. Tours of the brewery as well as a stop afterward to sample some beers in the Leinie Lodge makes this No. 2 complete. -Barbara Arnold