Ventnor, Ontario, is a small hamlet located along the Petite Nation River near the village of Spencerville. Originally, the settlement was called Adams after Gideon and Joel Adams, the sons of the Loyalist Dr. Samuel Adams, who received considerable land grants there prior to 1795 which included the rights to establish a mill and dam on the Petite Nation. The Adams family were the first to settle at Ventnor in the early 1800s, and had a mill in operation by 1928. The community of Ventnor was at its height in the late 1800s, a time when many pioneer businesses and industries were active within the village.