What ever became of Heritage USA

[monkeyboy]

Heritage USA ???

 

[WDSearcher]

The property was bought by a Malaysian investment group and is now known as Regent Park. The rides have been sold off, and the property is currently in disrepair.

 

[MosMom]

Originally posted by WDSearcher
The property was bought by a Malaysian investment group and is now known as Regent Park. The rides have been sold off, and the property is currently in disrepair.

Remind me never to give any money to Malaysian investment groups.

 

[monkeyboy]

Interesting Thanks

 

[dlbwright]

Went there as a kid a few times! Loved it! I am not big into religion (don't want to open that can of worms! ) But I can say that I really enjoyed going there. The place itself, was amazing!

 

[MeanLaureen]

What was Heritage USA?

 

[monkeyboy]

Originally posted by MeanLaureen
What was Heritage USA?

Christian Amusemnt park Jim and Tammy Baker built

 

[cynsaun]

Originally posted by monkeyboy
Christian Amusemnt park Jim and Tammy Baker built

Oh the images in my mind of rides in THAT park!

 

[Snow Dog Mom]

I grew up a few miles from it and they had the best pool and waterslide. I LOVED to go there as a kid.

What ever made you think of that place Monkeyboy?

Kim

 

[Beast]

Seems to me, don't quote me on this, that the "Alpine Express" train at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg was purchased from there.

Wouldn't be at all surprised if something from there ended up at Knoebel's, too. They like to get rides from placed that are shutting down. Just a thought.

 

[tar heel]

Here you go -- from 9/5/04 Charlotte Observer. Ran with a picture showing a half-built high rise.

Each day, utopian dreams fade away

Reality setting in for those longing for return of Heritage USA days

ASHLEY BARRON

Staff Writer


FORT MILL, S.C. - They came looking for a Christian utopia.

And that was what they got. For a time.

In the late 1970s, believers from across the country moved to Heritage USA, billed as a residential resort where Christians could retreat and enjoy all the good things God had provided.

Drawn by the promise of an idyllic life, people sold their homes, closed their businesses and moved to Fort Mill to be part of the community established by televangelist Jim Bakker and PTL Ministries.

"Love was rampant here," said Ray Walters, a former resident and Christian toy store owner. "We had a ball. We could have our friends come with their children and grandchildren, and we could let them loose here. It was that kind of place."

Hundreds of homes were built in three developments with about 800 residents. The giant Christian subdivision was planned to be self-contained, with a church, restaurants, stores and a school in addition to entertainment. A water park opened in 1986.

But today, there's a new movement of sorts taking place. The PTL faithful who have stayed behind at Heritage are watching quietly as new homes gradually fill the area and the vacant buildings that stand as reminders of the past slowly crumble away.

A Malaysian investment group bought the property in the early 1990s, and the name of the residential area changed from Heritage USA to Regent Park.

Ghost town

In its heyday, Heritage attracted up to 6 million visitors a year. Nearby theme park Parmount's Carowinds brings in about 2 million visitors annually."Early (on), they had a swimming pool, tennis courts, Putt-Putt, a really nice restaurant, an ice cream parlor, paddle boats on the lake, a beautiful merry-go-round," said Nancy Tillett, one of the Heritage faithful who still lives in the development. The list goes on and on.

The more than 2,000 acres also included a grocery store, skating rink and miniature train.

But appearances were deceiving. While the resort seemed to prosper, there was trouble building within the leadership.

Bakker, founder of Heritage USA and PTL Ministries, resigned in March 1987 when it was discovered PTL had paid a woman to keep quiet about a sexual encounter with Bakker. The sex scandal, financial problems and the resulting litigation, along with damage from Hurricane Hugo, forced the resort to close in 1989. Several attempts to revive the complex failed.

The Walterses lost everything when PTL Ministries collapsed. They moved back to their native San Antonio in 1989.

"There was a lot of heartache," Walters said. "People lost everything they had. ... That's what happens when you allow Satan to take your dream and run it down because of money."

After years of neglect, the resort today is a ghost town. Weeds sprout in cracked parking lots that once held thousands of cars. Trees sway in Victorian gingerbread trolley stations where people once crowded. Boarded-up windows and eroding brick facades show many buildings are beyond repair.

In the years since the resort closed, hundreds of undeveloped acres have been sold and more developments are on the way. Coulson Enterprises Inc., a Fort Mill developer, announced in July it had reached an agreement to buy nearly 1,000 acres, including the former water park, hotel and unfinished condominium tower.

Residents and Bakker supporters who dreamed of a resurrection have begun to despair.

"They're building roads," Tillett frets. "They're going to be building hundreds of houses."

Living reminders of PTL

Tillett's husband, Archie, said most of the older people who originally moved to Heritage USA had to leave when the stores closed and trolleys stopped. "A few are still here, but most left to be back with their families."

Susan Harrison stayed. Wife of the late "Uncle Henry" Harrison, she still lives in the home they built in 1983. Henry Harrison was co-host of the "PTL Club" and "Jim and Tammy" TV shows watched by millions.

"The new people who move in here, it's as if they don't even know we're here," Harrison said. "They don't want to get acquainted."

Some of the new residents weren't familiar with the development's storied past when they bought their homes. After all, the old PTL buildings are tucked deep into the park and can't be seen from the new housing areas.

"My wife and I were probably the only two people in America who didn't even know this was PTL," said Rob DiSilvestre, originally from Washington, D.C. "We started telling people about this great location, and they said, `That's PTL.' "

Until recently, longtime residents like the Tilletts and Harrison never quite lost hope that the area would be revived as a Christian resort. Over the years, several groups considered reopening the park, but a short-lived attempt in the early 1990s failed.

Optimism fading

There's still one Christian activity thriving at Regent Park. NarroWay Productions, a Christian drama group, leases the amphitheater built by Jim Bakker. The group stages seven different shows, attracting about 25,000 people a year. After driving past vacant PTL buildings, it's a shock to stroll into the 2,800-seat outdoor theater, with the town of Jerusalem spread out below. Co-founders Yvonne Clark and Rebecca Martin were not associated with PTL, and established their business here after the organization folded.

"When we started, we were so naive and oblivious to how (PTL's end) hurt people," Martin said. "Their money purchased this land for holy purposes. They invested blood, sweat, tears and money into building a temple. ... It's still sacred to them."

Clark agreed. "So many people gave not only money but time and effort and have a lot of love for it and a lot of hurt," she said.

"There are a lot of us that would just give anything if there was a humongous Christian development here," Harrison said. "I'm not sure we have that much time left."

If the old grounds are sold and houses and strip malls go up, there will be no more room for optimism. Even so, those closely involved with the PTL Ministry want others to remember the positive things that happened here.

"Jim and Tammy Bakker were human, but they did an awful lot of good," Archie Tillett said. "Millions of people over time committed their lives to Christ."

Harrison agreed: "It was one of the most overwhelming ministries the world has ever known ... It hurts so much to even look back."


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[SC Minnie]

I live about 2 miles from the old Heritage USA. In today's Charlotte Observer they had an article saying that the developer that is buying part of the property right now is going to let Rick Joyner build a christian school K-12 and conference center on the property.

It is sad to see the condition of the property-- you can see the half completed high rise from DD's school. There are a TON of houses built on the property now called Regent Park as well as a golf course.

 

[monkeyboy]

Originally posted by Snow Dog Mom
What ever made you think of that place Monkeyboy?

Going through my old checkbooks

 

[SC Minnie]

Originally posted by monkeyboy
Going through my old checkbooks

You and a lot of other people

 

[pirateofthecarolinas]

My aunt lives on a road close to Heritage USA. It was really pretty at Christmas.

We went to a retirement party for one of my husbands co-workers and Tammy Faye came. My husband and I would stand near her while the other one snapped photos. People were handing her money hand over fist! This was a retirement dinner, not a church fund raiser. She was all dolled up with the big hair and big eyelashes. My husband said the retiree was a big supporter of the Bakkers. I hope he didn't lose everything.

Lori

 

[SC Minnie]

I saw Tammy Faye at the outlet mall near there a couple of years ago. I saw this heavily made up woman and knew she looked familiar but couldn't place her. Then I heard her say something to her grandsons that were with her. She has a very distinctive voice.

We used to love to go through there at Christmas. The lights were absolutely beautiful. It was so sad to see go into such disrepair.

Jim and Tammy had a good concept but infortunately let greed get in the way.