Homes that were built 100+ years ago were mostly made of wood. If stone was prevalent in the area, some may have been built of stone. It's possible to have a home built of brick that old, but I don't recall seeing any. FWIW, I'm talking about common homes and not plantation homes.

Old growth wood is much better than new growth as other posters have already pointed out. A wood house has to be painted and kept painted. Paint today is many times superior than paint from 100 years ago (even ignoring lead-based paint).

As brick homes became an option, many homeowners chose them because a brick home doesn't need to be painted. Yes, the wood trim, fascia, soffit, etc. needs to be painted but the bricks do not. This was seen as a huge advancement in having less exterior maintenance.

Then came all types of exterior siding that came in 4x8 sheets. This allowed houses to be built more quickly and with less expense. Many of these products were terrible. Vinyl and metal siding came on the scene with all of the problems you would expect with such materials.

Next came James Hardie products (cement fiber). These seem to be quite good overall but a lot depends on the installer.

Houses built 100+ years ago didn't have any electrical or indoor plumbing at the time they were built. Plumbing and electrical was retrofitted. Old plumbing and old wiring generally are terrible. The use of aluminum wiring in the 70s was a terrible move. Thankfully, we're back to copper wiring.

Plumbing has seen many advances with use of different materials. One of the latest innovations is PEX for water lines.

Roofing went from wood, tin, asbestos shingles, asphalt shingles, clay tiles, and back to metal.

Insulation has become much better. Windows have become much better.

Homes from long ago were built by carpenters (and only carpenters). The same people did everything. In the mid 1900s, the building of houses slowly added specialization. First, plumbers and electricians. Now, it's highly specialized.

A 100+ year old home frequently has a lot of charm and character. Houses went through a period of incredible blandness. Fortunately, there's somewhat of a return to having more charm and character.

New homes can be fantastic. So much of it depends on the builder and the materials. Old homes can be fantastic too. It's usually super expensive to bring a really old home to current standards of comfort, safety, and convenience.