The Museum of Industrial History of Petrozavodsk, the oldest city museum, is located in a building that was previously used by a tractor factory. Its history began in 1838 when a Mining Museum was established on the factory's premises, showcasing products manufactured at this enterprise.

The organization of the museum was entrusted to R. A. Armstrong. The exhibits of the Mining Museum became the foundation for a new cultural institution, the Museum of the History of the Onega Tractor Plant, which opened in the autumn of 1967 and moved to the House of Culture of the tractor plant. In the 1990s, the museum temporarily closed due to the sale of the building and the crisis at the enterprise.

In 2003, to mark the 300th anniversary of the enterprise and Petrozavodsk, the museum reopened in the building of the former factory clinic. However, in 2009, the museum faced the threat of closure again due to the factory's relocation plans. Former factory workers and deputies opposed this decision.

That same year, N. I. Levin, the chairman for city development, proposed to buy the museum to preserve it. The head of the republic suggested transforming the exhibition into the Museum of Industry of the Republic of Karelia, but this idea was not realized.

In 2010, the company 'Okhta-group' acquired the site where the first factory with the museum was located and promised to preserve the museum heritage. The following year, the company renovated the museum at its own expense, and it received a new name, 'Gallery of Industrial History of Petrozavodsk,' with free admission for visitors.