Benton County Freedom Rock

In Benton County sits a painted boulder honoring the veterans of Benton County. It is one stop on an extraordinary statewide project. Iowa artist Ray Sorensen, known as Bubba, set out to paint a tribute called a Freedom Rock in every one of Iowa's ninety nine counties, each mural designed around the service and sacrifice of that county's own veterans.

The idea began years earlier when Sorensen painted a single rock near his hometown, then kept going until a personal gesture became a mission. This Benton County stone joined the tour with murals saluting local servicemen and women across every branch and every war. For drivers passing through, it is a roadside moment of remembrance, a hand painted thank you set in stone in a small eastern Iowa town.