Often social gatherings are held there. Longhouses in modern Iroquois communities are in the European style. Some use logs, but most are framed. A pot-bellied stove is placed at each end. Today's Ionghouse reminds some observers of two compartments of the old longhouses spliced together, with a hearth at either end.
Ceremonies continue to sort people into groups by gender and the ancient clans.
Many attempts at re-creation of bark longhouses have been made, usually with unwitting errors. The best re-creation is the one on exhibit at the New York State Museum. The roof line and interior structure are right. To accommodate school groups, the center aisle had to be made too wide, and, to satisfy the fire marshall, the door had to be placed on the side, but the other details of the longhouse are accurate. The geographic extent of the traditional longhouse may include Massachussets, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and even West Virginia and New Jersey, but there are regional variations.