Nice pic. Iowa, Iowa county, the buildings/architecture are pretty much one in the same. 117 years forward, celebrating Gino Bartali's birthday.
DSC_0031 by
iabisdb, on Flickr
the level of formality in photos has taken a nosedive in the intervening century or so.
Limestone is a readily available building material in the area, so I'll guess that this is what these buildings are made of. Clearly, the quality and uniformity of the blocks has improved over the years!
St. Joseph's Catholic church in Bellevue uses similar materials......
a somewhat recent photo....
and a shot of my aunt and uncle's wedding at this church, probably in the early to mid 50's?
Limestone quarries are common in the area, but I'm not ruling out the possibility that it might be some other local material... or maybe they brought some nicer stone in via barges on the Mississippi?
Steve in Peoria