Question: Which statesman founded one of the colleges at which Gridley J.F. Bryant was the architect?

Context paragraphs:
Gridley J. F. Bryant: Gridley James Fox Bryant (August 29, 1816 – June 8, 1899), often referred to as G.J.F. Bryant, was a Boston architect, builder, and industrial engineer.  His designs "dominated the profession of architecture in [Boston] and New England", spanning his career and after.  He was known as one of the most influential architects in the history of New England, and designed custom houses, government buildings, churches, schoolhouses, and private residences across the United States, and was known as being popular among the Boston elite.  His most notable designs are foundational buildings on numerous campus across the Northeastern United States, such as on the campuses of Tufts College, Bates College, and Harvard College.  He has been credited as one of the first modern architects of America, and at the height of his career was the most commissioned architect in New England and the most commissioned in the history of the city of Boston.

Bates College: Bates College ( ; legally incorporated as the President and Trustees of Bates College) is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine.  It was founded by abolitionist statesmen and established with funds from industrialist and textile tycoon, Benjamin Bates.  The college is the oldest coeducational college in New England, the third oldest in Maine, and the first to grant a degree to a woman in New England.

Cheshire County Courthouse: The Cheshire County Courthouse, located at 12 Court St. in Keene, New Hampshire, is the center of government of Cheshire County, New Hampshire.  Construction on the courthouse began in 1858, and it was first used in 1859.  Architect Gridley James Fox Bryant designed the courthouse; his design features a brick exterior, a central entry porch topped by a pilaster, a hipped roof with a bracketed cornice, and an octagonal belfry topped by a weather vane.

Ballou Hall: Ballou Hall is a historic academic building on the campus of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts.  Built in 1852 and designed by Gridley J.F. Bryant, it was Tufts' first academic building following the university's establishment by a group of Universalists.  The building was later restored by McKim, Mead, and White and remains the center of administration for the university.

State Street Block (Boston): State Street Block (built 1857) is a granite building near the waterfront in the Financial District of Boston, Massachusetts.  Architect Gridley James Fox Bryant designed it.  In the 1850s "the Long and Central Wharf Corporation ... sold each bay to individual owners, requiring that 'the granite to be used for the sidewalk & facade of each bay must be purchased from the Corporation & erected according to the architect's plan.'"

Hathorn Hall: Hathorn Hall is a historic academic building on the campus of Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.  Built in 1857 to a design by Gridley J.F. Bryant, it was the college's first academic building following the move of the Maine State Seminary (as it was then known) from Parsonsfield to Lewiston.  The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1970.

Aroostook County Courthouse and Jail: The Aroostook County Courthouse and Jail is located on Court Street in the center of Houlton, Maine.  The building was built in 1859 and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on January 26, 1990.  Its oldest portion dates to 1859, built to a design by Gridley J. F. Bryant, and was the county's first purpose-built court facility.  Later additions in 1895 (designed by Maine architect Wilfred E. Mansur) and 1928 added wings that give the building its present shape.  It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

Horticultural Hall, Boston (1865): Horticultural Hall (1865-1901) of Boston, Massachusetts, was the headquarters of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society in the later 19th century.  It stood at no.100-102 Tremont Street, at the corner of Bromfield Street, opposite the Granary Burying Ground.  Architects Gridley J.F. Bryant and Arthur Gilman designed the building.  Sculptor Martin Milmore created horticulturally-themed statuary for the building's exterior: "three ancient Roman goddesses ... Ceres, goddess of agriculture; Flora, goddess of flowers; and Pomona, goddess of fruit trees."  In the 1880s: "the ground floor [was] occupied by stores; the second story by the Library Room of the society and a hall for the weekly exhibitions; and the upper story by a large and elegant hall used ... at the annual and other important exhibitions.  Both of these halls [were] often used for concerts and the better class of entertainments.  The society's library, comprising over 4,000 volumes, [was] the most valuable collection of horticultural works in the United States.  The halls [were] adorned with portraits and busts of the presidents, founders, and benefactors of the society."

Campus of Bates College: The Campus of Bates College includes a 133-acre main area, in Lewiston, Maine, and which is maintained by Bates College.  It also includes a 600-acre Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area, and an 80-acre Coastal Center fresh water habitat at Shortridge.  The eastern campus is situated around Lake Andrews, where many residential halls are located.  The earliest buildings of the college were directly designed by Boston architect Gridley J.F. Bryant, and subsequent buildings follow his overall architectural template.  The quad of the campus connects academic buildings, athletics arenas, and residential halls.  The overall architectural design of the college can be traced through the Colonial Revival architecture movement, and has distinctive neoclassical, Georgian, and Gothic features.  Many buildings are named after prominent abolitionists, politicians, businessmen, alumni, and academics.

Gridley Bryant: Gridley Bryant (1789 – June 13, 1867) was an American construction engineer who ended up building the first commercial railroad in the United States and inventing most of the basic technologies involved in it.  His son, Gridley James Fox Bryant, was a famous 19th-century architect and builder.

Supporting paragraphs: Gridley J. F. Bryant Bates College
Answer: Benjamin Bates