COLLEGE GROVE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two of Williamson County's most storied farming families have gone from friendly competitors to family.
The Hatcher and Gentry families both established their farms in Williamson County within a year of each other in the 1840s. The Hatchers arrived in 1847, followed by the Gentrys in 1848. For generations, there's a chance the families knew of each other but at one point possibly had never formally met.
That changed when Charles Hatcher of Hatcher Family Dairy grew tired of finishing second to Gentry Farm in the annual Best of Williamson County farming awards.
"You know there was a Best of Williamson County Award and there was a Best of Williamson County farmer category," Hatcher said.
"Went another year – got second again," he said. "Third time, got second again and it kept being the Gentry's winning the Best of Williamson County farming award."
The repeated losses became a source of friendly frustration for Hatcher.
"It got to a point where I didn't even want to go to this awards anymore because it was so ridiculous," he said. "They were locked in number one every year."
It was clear this was a friendly competition. Both families had their own specialty, with Hatcher's farm focused primarily on dairy and Gentry's farm focused more on pumpkins.
But fate had other plans. One day at the Franklin Farmers Market, Mary Morgan noticed Charles working at a booth.
"I went to the Franklin Farmers Market and he was working the booth one day and I saw him and I was like – oh well he actually is kind of cute," she recalls. "And so I asked my friend, I was like can you set us up."
"And so she set us up on our first date," she added. "But we had never met before our first date."
Charles and Mary Morgan married in 2019, transforming the competitive relationship between their families into a collaborative partnership.
"So it went from a competitive kind of deal to now I'm all in on helping them and involved, so it's pretty wild how all that happened," Hatcher said.
The couple now works together across both family operations. Mary Morgan continues helping at Gentry Farm during busy seasons like their current pumpkin harvest, while Charles supports as well.
"I still help my family with pumpkins on the weekends at Gentry Farm which right now we're in the thick of it," she said. "I'm out there every weekend working."
Despite their different farming focuses, both families share a deep commitment to serving their community.
"Again I never thought I'd marry a farmer, much less a dairy farmer because it's so drastically different than the farm I grew up on," Gentry said.
I asked what their ancestors would say. Both pointed to their grandfathers and the legacy they had in these communities.
"I especially wish our granddads would literally sit down and we could all sit down and have a good time and talk about it," Hatcher said.
The couple has a three-year-old son, Cannon, who is the seventh generation on the Hatcher side.
Both families have been pillars of the Williamson County community for nearly two centuries.
"I think they'd just be so proud that both farms are having that impact on the community," Gentry said. "And that we get to invite people to our farm, share it with them."
Today, the Hatcher and Gentry farms remain separate operations but share a combined commitment to agriculture and community service that spans almost 180 years.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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