The museum began its history in 1896, and in 1925 it was granted the status of a local history museum.

The exhibition titled "Young City, Ancient City" highlights the history of the region from ancient times to the present. Here you can see the weaponry of an Ordinal warrior, officer uniforms and weapons from the 18th and 20th centuries, women's dresses and peasant sarafans, an anti-aircraft gun and an aviation bomb from the Great Patriotic War, a model of the first blast furnace, a monk's cell from the Cherepovets Resurrection Monastery, as well as the interiors of living rooms from the 1930s and 1950s. The modern city is also represented in the exhibition.

In 2016, the museum presented an updated exhibition "Cherepovets Region in Ancient and Medieval Times," covering the period from the 7th millennium BC, when the first settlers appeared in the territory of present-day Cherepovets, to the early 17th century, during the Time of Troubles.

The museum offers theatrical tours, master classes, and lessons of courage. There is also a children's historical club "DIMKA" operating here.