John Wilbur Atwater (December 27, 1840 – July 4, 1910) was an American farmer and Confederate Civil War veteran who served one term as a U.S.

Atwater was born near Fearrington, North Carolina in 1840.

[2] He attended common schools and the William Closs Academy.

A farmer, he enlisted in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, serving in Company D, First Regiment, of the North Carolina Volunteer Infantry.

He died in Fearington in 1910 and is buried in the Mount Pleasant Church Cemetery near Pittsboro.