Mount Kephart was probably visited and measured by Arnold Guyot during his survey of the Smokies crest in the late 1850s. The name he used for the mountain, however, is uncertain. Guyot listed two mountains between Laurel Top and New (Newfound) Gap as having elevations greater than — Peck's Peak, which Guyot measured at , and Mount Ocona, which Guyot measured at . The former may refer to Peck's Corner, although Peck's Corner isn't between Laurel Top and Newfound Gap, and Guyot would have missed its elevation by a staggering . Other than Mt. Kephart, the only peak between Laurel Top and Newfound Gap higher than is Mt. Ambler, a knob on Kephart's southwest slope.