Peter Jacob Carter (May 29, 1845 – July 19, 1886) was an American Republican politician who served as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, representing Northampton County from 1871 to 1879.

He was one of the first African-Americans to serve in Virginia's government.

[1] He fell ill while traveling via steamboat between Norfolk and the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and died soon thereafter; the cause of his death was likely appendicitis.

He was interred in the family cemetery near Franktown.

It stands in front of Bethel Baptist Church,[3][4] which had been constructed on land that he had donated.