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 whose designs "dominated the profession of architecture in [Boston] and New England." One of the most influential architects in New England, he designed custom-made houses, government buildings, churches, schoolhouses, and private residences across the United States, and was popular among the Boston elite. His most notable designs are foundational buildings on numerous campuses across the northeastern United States, including Tufts College, Bates College, and Harvard College. He has been credited as one of the first modern architects in America, and at the height of his career he was the most commissioned architect in New England. He is also the most commissioned architect in Boston history.
Gridley J. F. Bryant
A native of Massachusetts, his early life was heavily influenced by his father's work in construction engineering. His father, Gridley Bryant, built the Granite Railway, the first publicly chartered railway in the U.S. The younger Bryant received no formal training in architecture but taught himself industrial engineering and construction analysis as well as building design. Bryant's first informal mentor was Alexander Parris, who introduced him to neoclassical design and Second Empire architectural templates. His self-started firm, Bryant & Associates, was one of the most selective and popular architectural firms in New England. Bryant designed institutions providing high personal or societal value, or when sufficient payment was made to him personally, oftentimes described as "ludicrously expensive". He was the first architect to be featured on London's "The Builder." A record three of his designs were featured. Such publicity propelled him into the public eye and earned him expensive and large commissions.
Bates College
While attending (and later leading) the Freewill Baptist Parsonsfield Seminary, Bates founder, Oren Burbank Cheney worked for racial and gender equality, religious freedom, and temperance. In 1836, Cheney enrolled in Dartmouth College (after briefly attending Brown), due to Dartmouth's significant support of the abolitionist cause against slavery. After graduating, Cheney was ordained a Baptist minister and began to establish himself as an educational and religious scholar. Parsonsfield mysteriously burned down in 1854, allegedly due to arson by opponents of abolition. The event caused Cheney to advocate for the building of a new seminary in a more central part of Maine. With Cheney's influence in the state legislature, the Maine State Seminary was chartered in 1855 and implemented a liberal arts and theological curriculum, making the first coeducational college in New England. Soon after establishment several donors stepped forward to finance portions of the school, such as Seth Hathorn, who donated the first library and academic building, which was renamed Hathorn Hall. The Cobb Divinity School became affiliated with the college in 1866. Four years later in 1870, Bates sponsored a college preparatory school, called the Nichols Latin School. The college was affected by the financial panic of the later 1850s and required additional funding to remain operational. Cheney's impact in Maine was noted by Boston business magnate Benjamin Bates who developed an interest in the college. Bates gave $100,000 in personal donations and overall contributions valued at $250,000 to the college. The school was renamed Bates College in his honor in 1863 and was chartered to offer a liberal arts curriculum beyond its original theological focus. Two years later the college would graduate the first woman to receive a college degree in New England, Mary Mitchel. The college began instruction with a six-person faculty tasked with the teaching of moral philosophy and the classics. From its inception, Bates College served as an alternative to a more traditional and historically conservative Bowdoin College. There is a complex relationship between the two colleges, revolving around socioeconomic class, academic quality, and collegiate athletics.

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