﻿ John Wilbur Atwater

John Wilbur Atwater

John Wilbur Atwater (* December 27, 1840 at Fearrington, Chatham County, North Carolina; † July 4, 1910 ) was an American politician. Between 1899 and 1901 he represented the state of North Carolina in the U.S. House of Representatives.


John Atwater attended the common schools and the William Closs Academy. He then became a farmer. During the Civil War he served in the army of the Confederacy under the direct command of General Robert Edward Lee. He was also present at the surrender at Appomattox Court House.

In the 1880s Atwater joined the farmer movement and became its Chairman in Chatham County. Later he became a member of the Populist Party. In the years 1890, 1892 and 1896, he was elected to the Senate from North Carolina. In the congressional elections of 1898 Atwater was in the fourth electoral district of his state in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC chosen, where he became the successor of William Franklin Strowd on March 4, 1899. Since he has not been confirmed in 1900, he was able to complete only one term in Congress until March 3, 1901.

After his retirement from the U.S. House of Representatives to Atwater moved back out of politics. In the following years he worked again as a farmer. He died on July 4, 1910 in his birthplace Fearrington.