The Pugachev Local History Museum named after K.I. Zhuravlev is one of the oldest museums in the Saratov region. Its history began in 1919 when a central museum was established under the Department of Public Education, which included a pedagogical museum and a local history museum. The history of the region was also studied by the Society of Archaeology, History, and Ethnography at Samara State University, as Pugachev was part of Samara Province until 1928. In 1918, a circle of world studies enthusiasts (KLM) was organized, which held meetings with scientific reports, excursions, and collected natural science materials.

The sections of the Society of Archaeology, History, and Ethnography collected materials for the museum and its archive, including ancient books and documents. In 1920, a biological section was opened to study the flora and fauna of the region. In 1919, a physics-astronomy section began operating, which was engaged in creating a star map and conducting meteorological observations.

The pedagogical museum included a natural history cabinet, a chemistry laboratory, and a library that became the foundation of the museum's modern library. The museum had workshops for wood and metal processing. The central physics cabinet was organized by Mikhail Evgenievich Nabokov, who was invited from Moscow to give lectures on physics and astronomy.

In June 1919, when the White Cossack troops were advancing on Pugachev, Nabokov was tasked with protecting the pedagogical museum. He managed to safeguard the museum from military occupation and awaited the return of the Red Army. His wife also preserved the Central Pugachev Library despite the looting of other institutions.

In March 1919, a local history museum was organized, led by Pyotr Illarionovich Penkov and Yefim Ivanovich Korenyevsky. It collected church books, icons, portraits, engravings, maps, coins, and other artifacts. The museum received books and church items from abolished monasteries.

Mikhail Nikolayevich Tikhomirov, an academic and researcher, delivered books to the museum during his visits to Pugachev. Museum staff actively formed the library and promoted the museum among the population.

From January 1920, V.I. Lebedev became the head of the local history museum, who began describing Old Believer books. The museum opened to the public on weekends, while excursions for schoolchildren were held on weekdays.

In 1921, the museum became independent, and Konstantin Ivanovich Zhuravlev was appointed its head. He organized the collection of materials about the famine in the Volga region, including photographs and samples of food substitutes, which allowed for the opening of a famine department.

The museum moved to a new building in 1925, but a fire in 1926 caused significant damage. Soon, the museum received a new building, where it remains to this day.

In the late 1920s, geological and archaeological research was conducted. In 1931, Zhuravlev discovered the skeletons of ichthyosaurs and pliosaurs, which became valuable exhibits of the museum.

By the mid-1930s, the museum had three departments: local nature, history of the region, and socialist construction. In 1939, a branch, the House-Museum of V.I. Chapaev, was opened.

During the Great Patriotic War, the museum was closed, and its property was moved to the basement. In 1944, the restoration of the exhibition began, and in 1946, the skeleton of the pliosaur was transferred to the Paleontological Institute.

Over its 90 years of existence, the museum has collected about 50,000 items, including unique exhibits. It is visited by more than 20,000 people annually. The exhibition covers topics such as mineral resources, the fauna of the Zavolzhye region, Emelyan Pugachev's stay on the Irgiz River, and the participation of Pugachev residents in the Great Patriotic War.