In 1961, Viktor Petrovich Yershov, a geography teacher at Medvezhyegorsk Boarding School No. 4, organized local history hikes with his students in the surrounding areas. As a result of these hikes, many finds were collected, which became the first exhibits of the school museum. On April 7, 1962, the Medvezhyegorsk Historical and Local History Museum was opened based on this boarding school, which initially bore that name.

In its first year of operation, the museum was visited by over a thousand people. The museum was led by Viktor Petrovich Yershov, who continued to organize hikes with students and collect new exhibits for the collection.

In 1969, by the decision of the Council of Ministers of the Karelian ASSR, the school museum was transformed into a branch of the State Historical, Architectural, and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve "Kizhi." In 1977, it changed its status again, becoming a branch of the Karelian State Local History Museum. Since 1991, the museum gained independence and was renamed the "Medvezhyegorsk City Museum."