Asher Benjamin was the first American-born and American-trained architect. He was born in Connecticut and apprenticed there, working on the Hartford State House and the Phelps House in Suffield. He authored seven books. His first, “The Country Builder’s Assistant,” was published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in 1797. He designed the first Deerfield Academy building (1797-1798) in Deerfield, Massachusetts, and two significant houses in Greenfield, including one that later became the town’s public library. Benjamin ultimately settled in Boston, where he continued to design and write.