The Tuapse Historical and Local Lore Museum named after N.G. Poletayev traces its origins back to 1904, when a meeting of amateur local historians decided to create a society of natural science enthusiasts with a museum in Tuapse.

The museum is located in a two-story stone mansion built in 1893 according to the design of B.N. Volchanetsky, the nephew of artist A.A. Kiselev, who often visited Tuapse. From 1922 to 1930, this building housed the Tuapse office of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Trade under the leadership of Nikolai Poletayev, who contributed to the industrial development of the city, including the construction of a pipeline and the reconstruction of the port.

During the Great Patriotic War, the building was partially destroyed, but the surviving rooms were inhabited by Tuapse residents. In 1946, a decision was made to create a museum, which initially was located in a library and then in the cinema 'Rodina.' However, the conditions were unsatisfactory, and in 1949 the museum was transferred to a building on Poletayev Street, 8, after which its reconstruction began.

In 1958-1959, the museum opened its doors to visitors. In the 1960s, with the increase of the collection, it was decided to expand the building by adding a northeast wing. The reconstruction was completed in 1968, increasing the total area to 505 m².

In the early 1970s, the ashes of N.G. Poletayev were reburied in front of the museum, and a monument was erected there. The first collections of the museum were gathered by a local history circle under the guidance of N.I. Gumilevsky and included archaeological finds and minerals. By 1950, the collection had already numbered 2026 items. Under the guidance of Professor N.V. Anfimov, archaeological excavations began, laying the foundation for the museum's archaeological collection.

The work continued with senior researcher M.K. Teshev, who studied dolmens and tombs. In the 1980s, excavations of the Psynako-1 monument were conducted in collaboration with Professor V.I. Markovin.

Since the mid-1950s, the collection of items related to the history of the city and region began, including memorial funds of participants in events, documents, and personal belongings. Materials were collected on the history of the city's defense and the activities of various military units.

The collection was supplemented by the memorial funds of N.G. Poletayev and artist A.A. Kiselev, as well as items of ethnography, weaponry, and numismatics. In the 1960s, the collection of materials on contemporary history began, including memorial funds of production leaders and materials on industry.

In the 1970s, systematic scientific collection of the collections began, with special attention paid to ethnography, weaponry, and other areas. Since the 1990s, the museum has been replenishing its collections according to a scientific collection plan, including banners, coins, and documents.

For the first time, a department of decorative and applied arts of the peoples of Russia was created, whose collections include Khokhloma, Gzhel, and other products. The collection on natural history was also expanded, including shells and butterflies.

Currently, the museum's collection consists of 45,757 items in the main fund, including paintings, graphics, sculpture, decorative and applied arts, numismatics, archaeology, ethnography, weaponry, documents, and rare books. The scientific auxiliary fund consists of 13,044 items.