Charles Hatcher had grown tired of finishing second. For years, Hatcher Family Dairy – the farm his family had built over five generations – placed runner-up in the “Best of Williamson County” farming award, while their local rival, Gentry Farm, took first place year after year.
“I would get so agitated about that,” Charles recalls with a laugh.
It turned out that competition would change his life, leading him to Mary Morgan Gentry, the great-great-great-granddaughter of Gentry Farm’s founder.
Gentry’s Farm began in 1848 when Samuel Glass Jr. started buying plots of land around town. A few years and more than 1,000 acres later, rows of cotton began sprouting, and dairy cows were producing milk for the town. His descendants continued to work the fields, and now, 176 years of continuous agriculture later, his great-great-grandson Allen Gentry and son Jase are at the helm.
Just a year prior, in 1847, a farm across town was also taking shape – Octavius C. Hatcher began raising cattle, laying the groundwork for what we know today as Hatcher Family Dairy. Now in its fifth generation, Charles Hatcher is currently the dairy’s president.
“I had always heard about the Gentrys,” Charles shares with Visit Franklin, recalling the “Best Of” competition with amusement. “If you can’t beat them, join them.”
Unbeknownst to him, that’s exactly what he’d do. Thanks to mutual friends, Charles and Mary Morgan met and immediately felt like they’d known each other forever – they already had overlapping circles, and had plenty in common coming from generational farming families.
The love story that ensued was fit for a farming fairytale, and the pair wed at Gentry Farm surrounded by immediate family in 2019.
“The day of our wedding, he worked the Franklin Farmer’s Market that morning,” Mary Morgan laughs.
“And then milked cows the next morning,” Charles adds.
Now, the two prolific farming families have merged in last name and in industry, supporting each other through bartering and business – Mary Morgan now works onsite at the dairy.
Agritourism has been a booming industry in recent years, and is a win-win for farmers to make extra money and the community to get a glimpse inside farm life. Gentry’s Farm was the first to enter the tourism space, turning their acreage into a fall festival each year. Myself included, locals, visitors, and field trippers descend to the farm to pluck pumpkins from the patch, wind through a massive corn maze, and set out on a hayride in an annual ritual.
If you’re planning a visit to Franklin this fall, here’s everything you need to know.
Now, Hatcher Dairy also welcomes guests for tours that span the brand’s past (the old milking parlor) and present (a state-of-the-art robotic milking system), as well as a creamery, museum, and play area.
While both farms have been instrumental in Franklin for centuries, and now have given us one of the town’s most heartwarming love stories, we’d be remiss not to mention town legend Jimmy Gentry of the Gentry Farm lineage.
Jimmy was born and raised in Franklin, played football at Franklin High School, and went on to marry his high school sweetheart. During World War II, Jimmy served in the 42nd Rainbow Division, survived the Battle of the Bulge, and was then sent to Dachau – the first and longest-running Nazi concentration camp. He helped liberate it.
He came home, keeping his experiences to himself, and hitting the football field once again as a coach at multiple schools in town. Eventually, he began sharing his story through a book and documentary, and upon his passing in 2022, Leadership Franklin erected a statue in honor of Jimmy and the 143 Franklin residents who were lost in the war.
The values Jimmy embodied remain woven into the fabric of Franklin’s farming families, and that legacy will live on.
“One thing both of our families instilled in us is that we’re stewards of the land,” Mary Morgan shares. “We’re here for a generation, a time, to take care of the land, the animals on the land, and preserve it for the next generation.”
This article is presented in partnership with Visit Franklin, a Modern South Founding Partner.
