The grand opening of the Nerekhta Local History Museum took place on May 14, 1975. The museum is located in the building of a former "private pharmacy," built in the early 20th century in the Art Nouveau style. Initially, the museum was managed by Ivan Fedorovich Revin and Yelizaveta Vasilyevna Yerofeeva. The foundation of the collections consisted of items gathered by the local history circle at the House of Pioneers under the guidance of Igor Georgievich Bolshakov.

In the 1980s, the restoration of churches began in Nerekhta, initiated by N.P. Rodionova, who headed the Nerekhta branch in 1983. Thanks to the restoration, the museum united everyone who sought to revive the city. During this time, the museum became the cultural and spiritual center of Nerekhta. After the restoration was completed, it was housed in two churches, the Epiphany and Resurrection, the Kazan bell tower, and the building of the former "private pharmacy." In 1997, by the decision of the governor of the Kostroma region, V.A. Shershunov, a spiritual and cultural center "The Road to the Temple" was established at the museum.

In 2004, the exhibition "Nerekhta. One of Many" opened at the museum. In 2005, the museum received a Diploma and a special jury prize at the "Intermuseum-2005" festival in Moscow for the best presentation of the project "Nerekhta. One of Many." In 2004, Governor V.A. Shershunov decided to transfer the building of the "Biryukhanov Hospital Ensemble" to the museum. Ten years later, on August 2, 2014, the grand opening of a new museum facility took place, timed to the 800th anniversary of Nerekhta. The restoration was carried out under the patronage of Governor Sergey Konstantinovich Sitnikov.

In 2009, Olga Mikhailovna Mayorova became the head of the museum. In 2017, the Museum of Dreams was opened at the Varvarino courtyard of the museum in honor of the first flight in a hot air balloon in 1731 by Nerekhta resident Yefim Kryakutny. In the same year, the Nerekhta Local History Museum, a branch of the State Budgetary Institution of Culture "Kostroma State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve," was named after the honored cultural worker Nina Petrovna Rodionova.

For over 40 years, the museum has been collecting archives about the history of the region, merchant families, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, Nerekhta residents, pioneers, and people who make history. The museum's collections include unique items such as pottery, Nerekhta shawls and scarves, old printed books, church vestments, samovars, irons, chests, and much more, totaling over 12,000 storage units.