French Lick is a real and famous resort town located in Orange County, Indiana, United States. Its name has a very literal and historical origin: 1. "French" comes from an 18th-century French trading post that was established in the area. 2. "Lick" is an old term for a salt lick—a natural deposit of mineral salt on the ground that attracts wild animals (like deer and buffalo) to lick it. Essentially, French Lick was named for a French settlement near a spot where animals came to lick the ground