Heartwood’s own account starts with a change of trade. Two brothers in the small Mississippi town of Star, Jerry and Larry Glass, had spent their working lives building houses for people and then began building them for birds. A retailer’s history page, which repeats the maker’s text, puts that turn some twenty years before it was written, and describes the brothers as fourth-generation Star residents. The current owner’s page opens with a line in the same spirit: Heartwood, “Architecture for the Birds,” was born in Star.
How it began
According to that history, Jerry was the first to take up crafts. He designed and hand-built cypress pieces that he and his wife, Lynda, sold at local craft fairs. The idea of making birdhouses is credited to their mother, who reasoned that people love birds. The line later moved from fair stalls to wholesale.
The step that widened it was a trade show. The company attended the International Gift and Home Furnishing Market at AmericasMart in Atlanta, where, in the maker’s telling, buyers took interest quickly and began placing repeat orders. The retailer text says the houses are hand crafted at a facility in Star. That wording comes from marketing copy written before the 2025 ownership change, so current production details may differ.
Ownership since 2025
In January 2025 the Glass family passed the company to the Blossom family. The new owner is Historic Woods, a business led from Tupelo, Mississippi, by Bill Blossom and his daughter Elizabeth Blossom Looser. Their site calls the change closer to “a calling” than an acquisition. The range listed there is wider than birdhouses alone: butterfly and ladybug houses, bat houses, copper standouts and feeders sit beside the Heartwood Classics line.
What the houses are made of
Cypress is the defining material. The maker states that the majority of its houses use it and calls it the most naturally rot-resistant wood that grows in the United States. That is a manufacturer’s claim, though cypress heartwood’s reputation for outdoor durability is long-standing among builders. The company also says it buys heavy swamp cypress in short lengths, a byproduct of furniture factories that need boards of 8 to 16 feet, and that some models use mahogany from surplus at door and window shops.
Metal appears as an accent. Retailer descriptions of individual models mention copper steeples and copper trim.
The church-style models
Church and chapel shapes are among the more recognizable forms in the catalog. One retailer describes a model called Flock of Ages as a design drawn from traditional church architecture, with a rising steeple, multicolored shingles and a solid cypress body. Another, the Country Wildwood Church, is listed with an A-line profile, a cypress shingled roof and a solid copper steeple. Shingles on these pieces are decoration over the roof structure; they are not a separate weatherproofing layer in the way a house roof would be.
Judging a decorative birdhouse
A well-made ornamental box and a usable nest box are not always the same object. Before relying on any model for nesting, check these points:
- Entrance hole diameter, which determines which species can enter and which predators or competitors are kept out.
- Ventilation and drainage openings, so heat and rain do not build up inside.
- A roof, side or floor that opens, so old nests can be removed each season.
- Thick, untreated wood with tight joints rather than thin stock or painted-over gaps.
- A perch-free front, since perches mostly help predators and nest competitors.
Heartwood retailer descriptions mention ventilation, drainage and easy cleaning access on several models, but each piece should be inspected individually, because the catalog includes both nesting-oriented designs and purely ornamental ones. For guidance on sizing boxes to particular birds, see the birdhouse section. Another maker profile with a different construction approach is Coveside, and a vinyl-and-copper dovecote line is covered under Lazy Hill.
The sources reviewed here do not state production volumes, current staffing or whether manufacturing has moved from Star since the 2025 transfer.
Common questions
Where are Heartwood bird houses from?
Heartwood began in Star, Mississippi. The company describes itself as born there, and a retailer's history page says the founding brothers are fourth-generation residents of the town.
Who started Heartwood?
Brothers Jerry and Larry Glass. According to the retailer text, Jerry took up crafts first and sold cypress pieces with his wife Lynda at local craft fairs, and the birdhouses followed on their mother's suggestion.
Who owns Heartwood now?
Historic Woods, a company run from Tupelo, Mississippi, by Bill Blossom and his daughter Elizabeth Blossom Looser. The company states that ownership passed from the Glass family to the Blossom family in January 2025.
What wood does Heartwood use?
The maker says the majority of its houses are cypress, with some models in mahogany bought as surplus from door and window shops. Cypress is described as the most rot-resistant wood grown in the United States, which is the maker's own claim.
Does Heartwood make church-style birdhouses?
Yes. Retailer listings describe a steepled model called Flock of Ages with a solid cypress body and multicolored shingles, and a Country Wildwood Church with a cypress shingled roof and a copper steeple.
Are decorative birdhouses suitable for nesting?
Many are sold as garden ornaments first. Entrance size, ventilation, drainage and a way to open the box for cleaning decide whether a particular model works for a given species.