Thomas Nash came to Wisconsin Rapids in 1876 as station agent for the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railroad. In 1884 he was elected to the state legislature and a year later was appointed chief clerk of the post office department by Postmaster General Vilas. In 1889 he built the Port Edwards, Centralia and Northern Railway from Port Edwards to Marshfield, which later became part of the Soo Line. In 1891, he started the development of the Nekoosa Paper Company, of which he was president and manager until 1908, when he joined in the formation of the Nekoosa-Edwards Paper Company, serving as president there. Nash was married to Ella M. in 1874 and died on December 15, 1917.
