Heritage USA was a Christian theme park, Water Park, and residential complex built in Ft. Mills, SC. By the PTL Club (short for "Praise the Lord") founders televangelist Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker. Heritage USA comprised 2,300 acres and by 1986 Heritage USA was attracting approximately6 million visitors a year making it the third most visited theme park in the nation at that time (Disneyland and Disney World being #1 & 2) which was quite amazing in itself, but when you consider that the main attraction of Heritage USA was the water park that would have been closed for part of the year (while the Disney properties remain open year round) that really puts into perspective the mass amounts of people that visited Heritage USA.

From 1984 to 1987 Bakker and his PTL associates pitched that with a $1,000 donation to PTL, you would be entitled to a "lifetime memberships", which included a three-night stay annually at Heritage USA, only one problem...tens of thousands of memberships had been “sold”, but only one 500-room hotel was ever completed. Bakker "sold" more memberships than could be accommodated. This lead to PTL's fund raising activities being investigated and reported by The Charlotte Observer newspaper, which started the downfall of the PTL Empire and eventually lead to criminal charges against Jim Bakker. This coupled with a sex scandal that involved a $279,000 payoff to Jessica Hahn to cover up a sex scandal (Jessica Hahn contends that Bakker raped her, while Jim Bakker states he met Jessica Hahn at a hotel room in Clearwater Beach, FL but denies raping her. In 1987 Jim Bakker resigned as head of PTL and turned over the helm to Jerry Falwell. Later that summer, as donations sharply declined in the wake of Bakker's resignation and the end of the Bakker's popular PTL Club TV show, Falwell raised $20 million to help keep the Heritage USA Theme Park solvent, including a well-publicized waterslide plunge at the water park. Falwell called Bakker a liar, an embezzler, a sexual deviant, and accused Bakker of being a homosexual. According to Jim Bakkers son, Jay, the Bakkers felt betrayed by Falwell, as they believed that Falwell intended to help the Bakker's eventually restore their position as head of the PTL ministry organization

In September 1989 Hurricane Hugo caused severe damage too many of the buildings and Heritage USA closed shortly thereafter. Since its closing different area's of Heritage USA have been purchased and reopened with various degrees of success and/or failure.

In December of 2009, while on a trip to North Carolina visiting my family for Christmas, my brother Jeremy Goad and I took a trip to Ft. Mills, SC to see what remains of Heritage USA. Some area's have been restored and are currently occupied; other areas have been cleared away while others remain in a decaying state. Unfortunately we were on a tight schedule and were not able to see as many area's as I would like to have.  I was also disappointed to learn that the main attraction, the water park, was cleared away in 2005. I hope to make it out to Ft. Mills again in the summer of 2010 and see the different areas of Heritage USA that still remain standing. Till then I hope you enjoy the video below of my December 2009 trip to Heritage USA.