Wooden Foundations
Here in Louisville we have an area with several homes built by the railroad in the early 1900's. They where built as temporary housing for railroad workers. Here 100 years later almost all of them are still standing an occupied. Some are built with railroad ties lying directly on the ground acting as a foundation and have very low or completely inaccessible crawl spaces. As you might expect they tend to have severe termite and moisture damage. Replacement of the railroad ties (or other wooden beams) with a concrete footing and concrete blocks is suggested but often not very feasible.
Brick is the most common foundation type seen in older homes. Bricks as you may know are made of baked clay. Exposure to moisture is bricks greatest enemy. Brick foundations tend to wick up moisture from the ground causing decay to the sill plates and the brick and mortar. I have seen brick foundations that stay damp all the time in a crumbling condition while I have seen others in dry areas that seem as solid as new. Also it is common for bricks to be covered in stucco making it look like concrete so look close.
When it comes to older homes stone gets my vote for the best foundations. Dampness doesn't have near the effect it does on brick and it doesn't rot or get eaten by termites like wood. Beware of rubble stone. A good stone foundation will be made up of large rectangular stones. A much poorer type is rubble stone. or creek rock.
Concrete Block Foundations
Concrete block has become a very popular material for foundations. Properly done they are quite adequate for crawl space homes but I do not recommend their use for basement walls. Concrete blocks biggest downfall is they are very porous and water will flow through them. If the concrete footing is below grade then the blocks can hold water and create moisture problems. In addition if the crawl is below grade the potential for flooding is greater.
Poured Concrete
In modern homes solid concrete almost always makes for the best foundation. Older homes may have inferior concrete because of the way it was mixed on the job with no real standards. The best test for a concrete foundation is a visual inspection for excessive cracks. Note horizontal cracks are considered very bad.
Poured Concrete
Solid concrete is the best choice (in my opinion) for basement homes and crawl space homes when the crawl space is lower than the exterior grade. Modern concrete walls are usually about 10 inches thick and have steel reinforcement bars running through them