The monastery began its history in 1863 as a charitable institution under the management of Neonilla Chestnova. This event occurred thanks to the initiative of wealthy Vykhsky merchants who decided to create a charitable home. To choose the location, they invited the Reverend Varna from the Holy Trinity-St. Sergius Lavra. Upon arriving in Vykhsa, he went into the forest and stuck a branch in the thicket, where they built a house. Three nuns, 12 residents, and the fool-for-Christ Dmitry Pivovarov, who protected them from dangers, settled there. By the fall of 1864, the construction of a two-story building with cells and a dining room was completed. A year later, Varna sent the Iverskaya icon of the Mother of God to the charitable home, which determined its dedication. About a hundred years ago, the monastery's icon painters created a miraculous copy from it, as the original icon of Elder Varna was not preserved. In 1868, the first house church in honor of the Iverskaya icon was consecrated. In 1872, the construction of a five-domed cathedral, designed for 6,000 worshippers, began. The status of a community was granted to the charitable home in 1874, and until 1882 it was headed by Maria Pivovarova, under whom the stone cathedral was completed. From 1882, the community was led by Mitrophania Kryukova from the Rybinsk Sophia Monastery, and under her, the residents received the status of a monastery.

During the Soviet years, the fate of the Iverskaya monastery was tragic. In 1919, the monastery was closed, and in the summer of 1927, the main church was blown up, destroying its domes and vaults. The main walls withstood and became the basis for future restoration, although under the rubble, the sister-schemamonks who refused to leave the monastery perished. In the same year, the bell tower was demolished to the lower levels. It is said that the person responsible for the explosion did not want to do it and laid a weak charge, which only brought down the dome and the upper tier. In the elder Varna's house, located outside the monastery, L. M. Kaganovich lived when he came to inspect the factories. The revival of the monastery began in the late 20th century. In 1991, a religious community was registered, and in 1993, a new Iversky church was established in the church shop. In 1994, architects documented the monastery ensemble, and it was placed under protection as a regional heritage site. The list of the Iverskaya icon of the Mother of God, restored in the Serafimo-Diveevo Monastery, returned to the parish. During the clearing of the remains of the Trinity Cathedral, another icon, the Tikhvin icon, was found. In 1997, the community again became a monastery. The restoration of the main church began, and in 2003, the narthex was consecrated. There is still a long way to go for full restoration, but work continues. In the elder Varna's house, a children's home for orphaned girls was established under the supervision of the abbess. A hospitality house and dining room for pilgrims have been opened. The building of the former merchant hotel now houses the Vykhsky Orthodox Theological School with a museum of the Iversky Monastery, where photographs, documents, and artifacts found during the restoration are displayed. The restoration of the bell tower began in 2011. On February 8, 2012, a dome for the Assumption Church, made in Pereslavl-Zalessky, was delivered to the monastery, assembled and gilded at the Vykhsky Metallurgical Plant. On April 2, 2012, Metropolitan Georgy consecrated the crosses and domes for the Assumption Church and the bells. On October 23 of the same year, Bishop Varna consecrated the dome and cross, which were installed on the under-construction bell tower that same day.

On February 9, 2016, Bishop Varna consecrated the church in honor of the Dormition of the Mother of God with a grand ceremony. In the center of the square formed by the buildings, a monument to the Reverend Varna of Gethsemane was erected, solemnly opened on May 22, 2011.