The museum was founded in August 1918. On November 6, 1920, a museum-excursion-exhibition department opened under the Glazov district department of public education, led by A. I. Yezhova. Until 1922, it was located in the building of the Department of Public Education, in the former house of prosecutor M. S. Meshkov at the corner of modern K. Marx and Siberian streets. This house no longer exists.

From A. I. Yezhova's expeditions, the museum received national Udmurt, Chuvash, and Tatar costumes, embroidery, and decorations. The museum's collections were also enriched with minerals from the Urals and the Pre-Ural region. Paintings, artistic porcelain, and coins were received from the State Museum Fund. A labor department was organized, where crafts and industry were exhibited, as well as a household department with household items, tools, and national costumes.

In January 1925, the exhibition department was transformed into a local history museum under the leadership of A. I. Nagovitsyna. The museum was located in one of the rooms of the central city library named after V. G. Korolenko. From 1929 to 1934, the museum occupied the attic of the former Timofeev and Smagin mansion in Freedom Square and did not hold permanent exhibitions. In 1934, the museum moved to the floor of the House of Votian Culture, later the District House of Culture, at 33 May Day Street. In 1937 and 1938, exhibitions titled 'Udmurtia under Capitalism' and 'Udmurtia during Socialist Construction' were held.

In 1941, the building was repurposed as a hospital, and the collections were moved to storage. During the war, all museum exhibits stored in the district executive committee's warehouse were lost.

In 1946 and 1949, the museum's manager A. K. Ivshin practically recreated the exhibition from scratch. The museum resumed operations on a voluntary basis in May 1947 as the Glazov District Local History Museum. In 1949, the museum was allocated the lower floor in its previous location, the District House of Culture. In 1952, the museum moved to the building of the Transfiguration Cathedral in Freedom Square.

In 1954, the museum was dissolved by a decision of the Council of Ministers of the RSFSR, and its exhibits and property were transferred to the republican museum in Izhevsk. In 1962, the museum was re-established on a voluntary basis as a people's local history museum, with the opening taking place on July 2, 1963.

In 1968, the Glazov People's Museum became a branch of the Udmurt Republican Local History Museum. From 1983 to 1985, the museum was managed by local historian M. I. Bunia, who facilitated the allocation of part of the building of the Pioneer House, the former building of the women's Alexandrovsk Gymnasium, where the museum is currently located. In 1985, O. N. Korobeynikova became the head of the Glazov branch of the Udmurt Republican Local History Museum.

In 1992, the museum became an independent institution under the name Glazov Historical and Local History Museum. In 1993, a branch, the open-air museum 'Idnakar', opened, which became independent in 2000.

From November 1999 to July 2014, the museum was headed by N. N. Kislova. In 2003, the museum staff was inscribed on the city’s Honor Board. In 2011, the museum received its current name, the Municipal Budgetary Institution of Culture 'Glazov Local History Museum'.

The exhibition and exhibition area of the museum is 319.8 m², and the storage area is 130.3 m². As of January 1, 2012, the main fund of the museum holds 29,603 units.

The museum has seven exhibition halls: the Experimental Exhibition of the Information Center 'Universe and Man', 'Idnakar, the Ancient Settlement of the Udmurts', 'Glazov and Glazov District', 'In My Assigned City of Glazov', dedicated to the life and service of P. F. Tchaikovsky, the Literary and Musical Living Room 'Theater Gave Me Life', dedicated to the work of O. L. Knipper-Chekhova, and the exhibition-sale 'City of Masters'.