Founded in the late 1850s, Kittrell's max population reached 104 people in 1889 but has since dwindled. Pleasant Williams Kittrell settled in the region designated Kittrell's Cut-Off because it was separated from the remainder of the county by the Trinity River; for many years, the town was only accessible by boat. The community that bore his name had a post office from 1878 to 1920. In 1911, a six-grade school operated at Kittrell, but the school closed and merged with the Trinity Independent School District in 1933. In 1914, the Texas Gazetteer reported a general store, a cotton gin, and a seed mill in town operation. In 1945, the community had 25 residents and one business.
The town was not accessible by car until the 1950s. Before then, the town had been mostly abandoned due to boating being the only method of travel into the town. 1991 county highway maps listed a general region designated as Kittrell (Trinity) oilfield. In 2010, the town had 39 people, one business, and two churches.
Nearby is the Chalk Creek cemetery, which has served the community since 1865 and has several Civil War gravestones. The gravesite was officially listed as a Texas historical site in 1988.