French Settlement is the original name of Melrose, Oregon and its neighbouring valleys in Douglas County including Flournoy, Garden and Coles valleys. It is along the west side of the South Umpqua River South of its fork, a few miles West of Roseburg in Southern Oregon, West of Interstate 5. It roughly occupies a stretch of 8 miles by 4 miles of lush fertile well irrigated soil. The first American newcomers gave the location such a generic name based on the ethnicity or language spoken by the original settlers, namely French Canadians.