Building a longhouse was very hard work and took a long time. First the Native Americans had to find their materials such as elm, cedar, birch logs, bark, saplings, and animal hides. Most of these materials came from the forest and the animals that lived there. Next they had to make the frame so they stuck four large poles in the ground where the corners of the longhouse would be. After that they tied saplings together and set each strand to each pole. Then they covered the saplings with bark to prevent numerous problems with cracks like animals, breeze, snow, rain, and even thieves. Then they added a few smoke holes and a door at each end. The finished length was about 100 feet.  Many of the longhouses had a large fence, called a palisade, around them for protection.  The palisade had stairs along the inside to use for good arrow aim in case of an attack.

    Iroquois families lived together in a longhouse. Each family that lived in a longhouse had their own section. Sometimes they had fireplaces that were dug into the corridor floor. They used fire pits and fireplaces to keep warm. The fireplaces and fire pits ran down the middle of the longhouses. They were also used for cooking. On top of the longhouse there were smoke holes so the smoke would rise and go out.  When it rained or snowed they would be able to close the holes.

The Native Americans stored a lot of things in their longhouse.  Strings of corn, squash, and other foods were hung to dry.  The foods hung from rafters and storage racks.  Women made pots to store water.  Storage pits were dug and lined with bark and then filled with dried corn, meat and vegetables.  They used lining to keep mice and other pests from eating the food.  Corn was braided and hung from the ceiling.  Native Americans used their space wisely. 

Click on the picture above to explore a longhouse.