In the early 1960s, students of Izhma Secondary School, under the guidance of their teachers, began collecting materials about the history of the village and the district. This led to the idea of creating a school museum.

Initially, the museum was located in two small rooms of the Pioneer House, but soon, thanks to the efforts of the local community, it was allocated a separate building.

In 1965, by the decision of the district council of deputies, a people's museum was established in Izhma, headed by teacher I. F. Anufriev, who led it until 1970. From 1970 to 1975, the museum was headed by I. A. Filippov, who previously managed the Izhma library. From 1983 to 1993, the museum was managed by local historian N. K. Khatanzeisky, who worked as the editor of the district newspaper until retirement. In January 1993, by the decree of the head of the district administration, the museum was transformed into a state district historical and local lore museum, with T. I. Novikova as its director.

Today, the Izhma District Museum is housed in a two-story building with a mezzanine, which is a monument of wooden architecture. In 1993, the museum received state status, and since 1998, after moving to a new building, a new stage of its development began.

A particular pride of the museum is its archaeological collection, which reflects the history of life and development of ancient humans, gifted to the museum in the mid-1960s by archaeologist V. Luzgin. Among the exhibits of the collection stands out a combat iron axe from the 11th century, unique for this region.

The history of the Izhma region in the 20th century is rich in events, which are presented in the museum's exhibition in chronological order through documents, photo documents, material exhibits, and thematic interiors.