The museum was established in 1991 thanks to the initiative of the residents of Karsun, with the support of the head of the district culture department, V.A. Khorev, and the first director of the museum, G.E. Krasilnikova.

The museum is located in the building of the former Karsun Zemstvo administration, which is a monument of history and culture from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This two-story stone structure was built in 1901 according to the design of civil engineer Viktor Ludwigovich Ivanovsky and is executed in the Russian style of the Moscow direction. The building stands out with its original decorative window designs and stylized roof. Inside, the ceilings are adorned with stucco, and the floors of the second floor are laid with maple parquet. The building was opened on September 20, 1901, and has been used successively as the District Zemstvo administration, the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, and the District Party Committee. Currently, in addition to the museum, there is a children's art school named after A. Plastov. Since its construction, no major repairs have been conducted, only cosmetic work has been done. Since 1990, the building has been included in the register of historical monuments of the RSFSR.

The museum occupies the second floor of the building and includes several exhibitions: the large exhibition hall houses an art gallery, the brown hall features permanent and temporary exhibitions on the history of Karsun from 1905 to 1990. The green hall is dedicated to the history of the founding of the fortress city of Karsun before 1905, while the oval hall tells about Yu.G. Samsonov. The family museum hall hosts changing exhibitions from the archive dedicated to the families of the rural settlement of Karsun, and small art exhibitions take place on two stair landings.

As of January 1, 2011, the museum had 15,273 storage units. The main areas of scientific research, collection, and exhibition work include topics such as: 'Life in the Karsun District during the Great Patriotic War', 'The Contribution of Karsun Residents to the Victory in WWII', 'From the History of Karsun Families', family archives, and art exhibitions.

The museum conducts tours, lectures, meetings, round tables, discussions, and also accepts documents for the archive. It participates in district, regional, and interregional cultural actions and events. For example, in collaboration with the editorial office of the newspaper 'Karsun Herald', scientific research was conducted on the topic: 'No One is Forgotten, Nothing is Forgotten. Letters from the Front'. An innovative platform, a museum on wheels, was also launched, which visits war and labor veterans, homefront workers, soldiers' widows, educational labor veterans, and children of war at home, offering individual exhibitions and discussions.