The museum was founded in 1948 as part of the Pugachev Memorial House-Museum of V. I. Chapaev. In 1986, it became part of the Saratov Regional Museum of Local Lore.

The museum is located in a small wooden house in the former Orphanage settlement, Bodrovka, where porters, cart drivers, and the poor from Balakovo lived. In this 35 square meter house, from 1919 to 1922, the parents of V. I. Chapaev lived. This is where the future military leader spent his childhood and youth. The memorial exhibition, occupying about 12 square meters, is dedicated to the life and activities of V. I. Chapaev.

The museum features an ethnographic collection of clothing and household items from Tatar, Chuvash, and Russian peasantry, as well as applied arts products.