Originally known as Stout's Corner, Mount Rose emerged as a village in the 1820s. By 1880 it had a school, post office, sawmill, and several shops. It was perhaps best known as a center of applejack whiskey production, and two distilleries operated there into the early part of the 20th century. The office building of the former Mount Rose Distillery still stands and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.