Governor John Endecott in 1652 sent a survey party to determine the colony's northern boundary, which was specified by the charter to be north of the Merrimack River. This survey party discovered (incorrectly) that the northern limit of the Merrimack was near what is now known as Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire. An east–west boundary at this latitude was found to include a number small settlements in what is now southern Maine. Endecott sent Leverett as one of several commissioners to negotiate the inclusion of these settlements into the colonial government, which resulted in the eventual formation of York County, Massachusetts. Leverett became interested in developing more land in Maine as result of this and other official visits, and invested in a significant amount of land there, over and above the lands inherited from his father.