The Kyrtom community was founded in 1871 in the territory of the modern Alapaevsk district, by the Kyrtomka River, which flows into the Tagil. Its creation is associated with the peasant Andrey Gavrilovich Medvedev, the future Father Adrian. In the 1860s, he first appeared in this secluded place, dug a dugout, and lived there alone for about a year.

Later, seeking spiritual experience, he went on a pilgrimage to the holy places of Russia and spent several years on Mount Athos. Upon returning, monk Adrian built a small hut-cell on the site of the former dugout by the Kyrtomka.

News of his spiritual wisdom quickly spread to the surrounding villages. Peasants began to visit the monastery for prayer and guidance. Many pilgrims, heading to Verkhoturye, would detour to visit Medvedevka, as the new monastery was called. Some even decided to settle nearby, which marked the beginning of the history of the Cross Exaltation Monastery.

The brotherhood provided for themselves: they engaged in agriculture, had a water mill, a livestock yard, and a carpentry workshop. They tanned hides, made felt boots, wooden dishes, and furniture. The monastery was known for its large library. It is known that people who had committed crimes were reformed here, which was not an easy task for the brotherhood. In 1893, proving its viability, the community was transformed into a monastery, and Father Adrian became its first abbot.

An important event was the consecration in 1891 of a small wooden church in honor of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. In 1905, the church was reconsecrated in honor of the icon of the Most Holy Theotokos "Znamenie" due to the construction of a second, main church. The new Cross Exaltation church was consecrated in 1899. According to I. D. Samoylov, it was an outstanding example of folk architecture, decorated with carvings from cedar wood, with eleven domes.

The main figure in the history of the monastery was Father Adrian. In difficult years, he strengthened the monks in faith. According to legend, Grigory Rasputin, a close friend of the royal family, visited the Kyrtom Monastery several times to communicate with Father Adrian. Among his disciples was Ignatius Kevroletin, the future hieroschemamonk John, who was glorified in 2000 among the ranks of the new martyrs. He became the guardian of the Orthodox faith in Verkhoturye.

At the time of Adrian's death, the brotherhood mourned him bitterly. His life was a lesson for them. Even in his last hours, he maintained his spirit and received visitors until it was time to read the canon for the departure of the soul.

By 1917, there were 27 monks and 28 novices living in the monastery. The monastery had a spiritual influence on the surroundings and received thousands of pilgrims. After the revolution in the 1920s, the monastery was closed, and the inhabitants dispersed. The monastery buildings were occupied by timber workers. The Znamenskaya church was dismantled, and the Cross Exaltation church was used as a warehouse and store.

In the 1960s, after the logging, the territory of the monastery passed to the Kirov state farm. In 1972, the church burned down in a fire.

In the mid-1980s, I. D. Samoylov developed a project for the restoration of the church. A year later, master P. A. Kharov created a model one-seventeenth the size of the original, which is now exhibited in the Nizhnesinyachikhin Museum-Reserve.

Among the relics of the monastery, the image of Saint John the Theologian has been preserved, which was passed down in the family of a local resident. Recently, the icon was transferred to the restored church in the village of Makhnevo.

Since 2011, the revival of the monastery began, with the Cross Exaltation church, residential and economic buildings being rebuilt.