Fort Worth ISD closing Charles E. Nash Elementary, named for hardware store owner

READ MORE

---

Fort Worth ISD: The people behind the names

The

on May 20 to approve a plan to shutter 16 schools between 2026 and 2029. Previously, the district voted to close two schools in June 2025.

These closures are part of the district’s facilities master plan, which is intended to help Fort Worth ISD manage revenue loss from declining enrollment. Here’s a look at some of the namesakes of these closing schools.

Expand All

Fort Worth ISD to close De Zavala Elementary, named for the first VP of Texas

Fort Worth ISD to close Edward J. Briscoe Elementary, named for Black educator

Fort Worth ISD closing Charles E. Nash Elementary, named for hardware store owner

Fort Worth ISD is closing Kirkpatrick schools. They’re named for Black educator

Fort Worth ISD closed S.S. Dillow Elementary. What to know about the man behind the name

---

Charles E. Nash Elementary School is one of 18 schools Fort Worth ISD will close over the next four years.

The Fort Worth school board voted 8-0 on May 20 to approve a plan to shutter 16 schools between 2026 and 2029. Previously, the district voted to close two schools in June 2025.

These closures are part of the district’s facilities master plan, which is intended to help Fort Worth ISD manage revenue loss from declining enrollment.

Charles E. Nash Elementary is closing in June 2026. The school is named after a hardware store owner and Fort Worth school board member.

Here’s what to know about the man behind the name.

Fort Worth beginnings and hardware store

Charles Edgar Nash (1861-1917) was born to Zeb and Octavia Nash in St. Paul, Minn.

After the Civil War, the Nash family lived in New Orleans and later moved to Fort Worth in 1872, according to Charles Nash’s 1917 obituary in the Star-Telegram. Zeb Nash opened his own hardware store — Nash Hardware Company — the same year the family moved to Cowtown.

In 1885, Nash Hardware moved from Houston Street to 1609 Main St. and Charles Nash assumed control of the business. By 1892, the company began doing wholesale business.

On June 22, 1897, Zeb Nash died suddenly from heart disease at the age of 70, according to prior coverage from the Fort Worth Record and Register. Charles Nash and his sister Minnie were at Hust Lake at the time of the death.

Nash Hardware

Nash Hardware ran several ads, including one for a $4 lawnmower, in the local newspaper back in the late 1890s and early 1900s.

The Star-Telegram previously covered a recreational baseball game between Nash Hardware and the William Henry and R.E. Bell Hardware Company on July 14, 1905. Nash beat Bell 15-1.

In 1910, Nash Hardware built and moved into a four-story building at 401 E. 8th St.

The company operated out of the building until 1967. Fort Worth ISD’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy now operates out of the historic building.

In 1961, Nash Hardware was bought by an Oklahoma hardware company and eventually moved to 1909 W. Vickery Blvd. in 1967, according to previous Star-Telegram coverage.

Nash Hardware was then sold to BH&L Industries in 1973 and would close three years later in 1976.

Time on Fort Worth school board and school naming

In March 1915, Nash announced his candidacy for place 6 on the Fort Worth school board.

Nash won the May school board election, securing 874 of the 1,749 total votes. His total votes (874) were just one less than the total of his four other competitors combined (875).

By 1916, Nash served as vice president on the school board, according to previous Star-Telegram coverage.

In July 1916, about 14 months after he joined the school board, Nash submitted his resignation.

Nash cited a disagreement in the board over the expenditure of proposed school bonds as reason for his resignation. Later that year, Nash would shift focus from Fort Worth ISD to TCU.

More than 30 men, including Nash, launched a campaign to raise $150,000 ($4.2 million in today) for TCU. The amount was to be divided equally between the university proper and the medical college.

In February 1928, the Fort Worth board of education approved naming a newly-constructed school after Nash.

The school, located at 401 Samuels Ave., is just minutes from Nash’s old residence at 747 Samuels Ave. While Charles Nash and Charles Nash Jr. did not attend the school, another namesake did.

Charles Edgar Nash III (1933-2015) attended Charles E. Nash Elementary School, according to his obituary published in the Star-Telegram.

Nash family and death

In 1892, Nash married Lottie L. Shattnck in Minneapolis, according to Minnesota marriage records.

Nash remarried in 1898 to Edith Bennett. The couple welcomed their son Charles Edgar Nash Jr. in 1900, according to the Fort Worth Record and Register. In 1906, the Nashes welcomed another son — David Bennett Nash.

From at least 1901 to 1910, the Nash family lived at 819 Taylor St. The family then moved to 747 Samuels Ave.

On Sept. 13, 1917, Nash died in Rochester, Minn. He was 56 years old.

Nash had been in a sanitarium since early August under the care of Dr. William James Mayo of the Mayo Clinic. Nash was recovering from two successful operations and was recently cleared to go home, according to previous Star-Telegram coverage.

As he retired that night, Nash was overcome by a blood clot on his brain that led to a stroke. Nash died around 7 p.m. His wife and children were with him at the time of death and accompanied his body back to Fort Worth.

Nash is buried in Oakwood Cemetery (701 Grand Ave.). At the time of his death, Nash’s estate was estimated to be worth $100,000, which is about $2.3 million today.

This story was originally published July 8, 2025 at 4:22 PM.

Brayden Garcia

Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Brayden Garcia is a service journalism reporter at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He is part of a team of local journalists who answer reader questions and write about life in North Texas. Brayden mainly writes about weather and all things Taylor Sheridan-related.