The 18-ton Dallas County Freedom Rock was reerected in Minburn this week, a symbol of the indomitable spirit of sacrifice that made America great in war.
The patriotically painted rock fell on its north face shortly after 4 a.m. Dec. 7 when it was struck by a motor vehicle that left the roadway on U.S. Highway 169 in Minburn.
The rock remained where it fell, tastefully shrouded under a tarp, until its reerection by some half-dozen workers, using an excavator and a flat-bed semi-tractor trailer.
The Minburn American Legion Post 99 contracted with Freedom Rock painter Ray “Bubba” Sorensen in 2017 to paint the boulder, which was donated by Dennis Allen of Herndon and placed in Minburn April 28, 2018.
Sorensen began painting during the hottest days of mid-July and completed the work July 20, 2019. The Dallas County Freedom Rock was dedicated Oct. 19 in a solemn ceremony.
The Dallas County Freedom Rock project cost an estimated $20,000, including Sorensen’s $5,000 fee and the additional landscaping and beautifying of the grounds around the rock. Future additions to the memorial park include five granite stellae or columns, each commemorating a branch of the U.S. armed forces.
The rock art will be assessed for damages and fully restored to its former glory, according to Legion sources.
Video courtesy Jeff Kenyon
