In 1665 the Provincial Court took up a discussion about what to do in relation to the Mattawoman Indians who wanted to know where they could peaceably live since the English continued to encroach on their lands. The Governor and council agreed to allow the Mattawoman to continue to live on their old habitation grounds, where the English could keep command over them. The council called it a reservation, “within which no English man shall take up any land.” The lands were between Mattawoman and Piscataway Creeks and comprised approximately 223 square miles.