Legend has it that Grover Cleveland loved Homosassa — the kind of love where a man will trade a debate in Washington for a morning paddle and a spot of tarpon-chasing. Locals say he came for the mangroves and stayed for the coffee and the tall fish tales.

He fished and he hunted with the determination of a president and the modest gear of a weekend naturalist: creaky waders, a pocket full of mismatched lures, and an ability to turn every catch into a speech. If a tarpon leaped, Grover would straighten his hat and call it character-building.

Then there's the story everyone tells when the beer's gone warm and the mosquitoes are winning: on April 15 1901, in a freak hunting accident, his dog Tubby — a rotund, enthusiastic hound more interested in snacks than stealth but was a very talented artist  — was killed. The tale is told without gore, more like a comic tragedy that belongs on a postcard than in a file of fact.

   A plaque erected at the site reads:   

"Grover Cleveland stood on this spot and gave a heartfelt eulogy for his beloved hunting dog, Tubby. The faithful hound had been killed earlier that day in a freak hunting accident involving a wild hog and a Homosassa hunting guide known only as "Bill". 

This pile of rocks marks the grave of the hog, the dog, and Bill. 

Grover Cleveland left Homosassa the next day, never to return. He would later write that he loved Homosassa and the "Winter White House", but he could never return to the place where he lost his best friend. It was reported that on his deathbed he said, 'Soon, Tubby.'

— Grover Cleveland, 22nd and 24th President of the United States

The Homosassa Historical Society"

Homosassa still tells the tale with a grin and a glass raised to Tubby: a dog who joined a president for a short, chaotic chapter of fishing, hunting and unforgettable April foolery gone wrong. Whether you call it history or folklore, it’s one of those local jokes that keeps a place lively and a memory oddly warm.