LEAD HILL, Ark. — It was supposed to be a fairy tale come to life, but the hard truth can be read on the signs along Highway 14. One trumpets, “A castle in the making” and “They’re building it. Come see it!” The other sign, more recent, is a lament: “Closed for the season.”

That was two seasons ago.

The Ozark Medieval Fortress, an attraction founded in 2010 but built with 13th-century methods for tourists, is now a ruin — at least financially. And its investors face a challenge perhaps even greater than building a castle by hand: trying to sell it.

The castle opened as an exotic idea imported from France. Tourists paid to step back in time, mingle with laborers in tunics and observe medieval tools and techniques. At stations surrounding the work site, they tried carving stone, making rope and forging iron. A human-scale hamster wheel powered a crane for heavy lifting. Artisans baked medieval bread, mead not provided.

“Lots of people know about the medieval but never see a castle,” said Jean-Marc Mirat, 73, one of the founders. “To build one here, I think the idea is pretty good.”