The Orenburg Governor's Historical and Local Lore Museum, one of the oldest in Russia, was founded in 1830 by the military governor of Orenburg, P. P. Sukhtelen. The creation of the museum had a practical purpose: the region was poorly studied, which complicated governance. Therefore, the main focus was not so much on creating collections and exhibitions, but on gathering and systematizing previously scattered items in one place.

Today, the museum is located in a building that is a monument of 19th-century architecture of republican significance. Its halls feature exhibitions dedicated to the history of the founding of Orenburg and the province, the development of the economy and trade in the 18th and 20th centuries, the military history of the region, as well as the development of education, science, and culture in the area. In the nature department, one can see the plant and animal world, as well as the mineral resources of the Orenburg region.

To this day, the museum is the largest repository of monuments of material and spiritual culture in Orenburzhye. It houses extensive archaeological, ethnographic, and paleontological collections, herbariums, photographs, documents, manuscripts and old printed books, religious artifacts, coins, medals, and works of art.