The Postmaster named the town in honor of Kent on February 29, 1888.

[4] On August 30, 2012, damage was caused by pressure on the 2,300 foot Percy Quin dam, a dam on the Tangipahoa River north of Kentwood, as a result of Hurricane Isaac, led to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal calling for a mandatory evacuation of the town due to fears of large-scale flooding from Lake Tangipahoa.

The evacuation order, which was amended twice, was later rescinded as the dam held.

[5] The 490-acre Lake Tangipahoa, which opened in 1939 and is located six miles south of McComb, Mississippi, was reopened in 2016.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,145 people, 771 households, and 421 families residing in the town.