| Prater | |
| Settlement Type: | Unincorporated community |
| Pushpin Map: | Virginia#USA |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within the Commonwealth of Virginia |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Virginia |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Buchanan |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Population As Of: | 2000 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern (EST) |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | EDT |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 37.2156°N -82.1994°W |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP codes |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 1499911 |
Prater is an unincorporated community located in Buchanan County, Virginia. It is near the intersection of Virginia State Route 83 and County Route 604 in the western portion of the county. The community was the home of Russell Prater Elementary School until 2014.
A post office was established at Prater in 1877, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1965.[1] According to tradition, Prater was named for the Prater brothers of pioneer settlers.[2]