Nestled between Pine and Big Black Mountains, the two highest ranges in the state, Oven Fork was named for brick ovens placed on the banks of the Poor Fork of the Cumberland River.
In 1930, the place now known as the Mercantile was a grocery store and gas station. In 1945, one side of the room became the Oven Fork Post Office. It served the community as a post office until 1988. The old building became the Oven Fork Mercantile in 1991.