Solikamsk emerged due to salt production and soon became one of the largest salt extraction centers in the country. Most salt wells and boiling houses were located in the city center, but by the second half of the 19th century, they were depleted. In 1878 and 1882, a new salt factory was built near Solikamsk. It was financed by merchant Alexander Vasilyevich Ryazantsev and was located in a small settlement called Borovsk, now a district of Solikamsk, on the left bank of the Kama River. Despite some innovations, the production technology almost completely replicated the ancient process known since the 15th century. All industrial buildings were wooden and included brine-lifting towers, salt stores, boiling houses, and granaries. In 1882, the first batch of salt was produced, and by the early 20th century, the factory, with nearly two hundred workers, became the largest industrial enterprise in the Perm region.

Until 1917, the factory belonged to several members of the Ryazantsev family. Later, it continued to operate, undergoing several modernizations, including the transition to electric traction and the use of coal instead of wood fuel. By the 1970s, the enterprise became unprofitable, and on January 1, 1972, the Ust-Borovsk salt factory was closed. After a long period of uncertainty, in October 1986, a museum of salt history was opened on the territory of the former factory, recreating the ancient technological chain of salt production. In the 1990s and 2000s, the museum experienced several fires, and the restoration of its facilities continues to this day.

In the area of the factory, rich saline brines lie at a depth of more than 100 meters. Brine-lifting towers with steam engines were used to pump them up through wooden pipes. Previously, special containers with manual or horse-drawn traction were used to lift the brine. The brines were delivered to salt stores via inclined chutes, from where, after settling, they were sent to boiling houses for water evaporation. The finished salt was packed in bags and stored in granaries on the bank of the Kama. During the shipping season, salt was sent downstream on the Kama, mainly to the Nizhny Novgorod Fair.

Several historical structures have been preserved on the museum's territory, listed in the register of cultural heritage sites of Russia: Factory Office (1884), Guard House (late 19th century), Alexander Salt Store (1882), Alexander Brine-Lifting Tower (1904), Vasiliev Salt Boiling House (1882), Resurrection Brine-Lifting Tower (1928), Ivanov Salt Boiling House (1882), Ivanov Salt Store (1882), Georgiev Salt Boiling House (1882).