Our Story

It was 1974 and Jean Duggan, a UF professor's wife and mother of four with Canadian roots, decided she wanted a source of heat that was both familiar and useful. The problem was, she now lived in Gainesville, Florida — and Florida was an unlikely place for finding wood stoves. After extensive product research and a lot of hunting, she secured a Fisher Grandma Wood Stove and fell in love with it. The 70's Oil Embargo was in full swing at the time, which meant that other people were also desperate for alternative heaters. Jean realized this and decided to share her solution with others. Hence, the concept for a local wood stove store was born.

Armed with her newly acquired knowledge, she reached out to manufacturers. "You'll never sell wood stoves in Florida" was the response from some, but she managed to convince one to give her a shot. Soon she was selling them out of her living room on weekends (much to the annoyance of her children who had to turn off their cartoons) until the business grew into needing a mini warehouse, then occupying the corner of a plant store, then boasting a small storefront of its own, and then —finally—settling into its spacious current location on Gainesville’s Main Street.

Over the decades, Jean and her son Kerry expanded The Wood Stove's offerings to include a variety of indoor and outdoor products including built-in gas and wood-burning fireplaces, charcoal grills, and electric fireplaces. The Wood Stove and Fireplace Center is now one of the leading hearth stores in Florida.

After retirement in 2006, Jean passed the baton to her son Kerry, who has been a part of the business since its founding, and is carrying on her legacy and passion for hearth products. In 2018, his daughter, Kaitlin, joined him in carrying on, for a third generation, the tradition of bringing the value of family-style service and fireplace industry expertise to North Central Florida and beyond.