The Ulyanovsk Regional Local History Museum named after I. A. Goncharov traces its origins back to 1895, when the historical and archaeological museum of the Simbirsk Scientific Archive Commission was established. Although the official opening took place on January 1, 1896, visitors were welcomed as early as December 1895, making this month the founding date of the museum.

The museum's collection was formed thanks to private donations, notably the archaeological collection of the Simbirsk landowner and patron V. N. Polivanov and the numismatic collection of A. V. Tolstoy. Subsequently, the funds were actively replenished by the efforts of local historian P. L. Martynov, A. K. Yakhontov, V. E. Krasovsky, and other researchers of the Simbirsk region.

In the early 20th century, two more museums appeared in Simbirsk: the Regional Natural History Museum and the Church Museum. In March 1918, they were merged into a single People's Museum, which was renamed the Local History Museum in 1932.

Since 1918, the museum has been located in the House-Memorial to I. A. Goncharov, built in 1912-1915 according to the design of architect A. A. Shodé with funds raised through a nationwide subscription. The building is situated in the city center on the Ventsa and faces the Volga River.

In 1956, the museum was named after I. A. Goncharov.

In the 1970s and 1990s, museum branches were opened: in 1974, the museum "Conspiratorial Apartment of the Simbirsk Group of the RSDRP"; in 1982, the I. A. Goncharov Museum; in 1990, the Undorovsky Paleontological Museum; and in 1999, the Literary Museum "House of the Yazykovs." In 2003, the complex "Yazykov Estate" was established in the rural locality of Yazykovo.

Today, the museum's collections number around 142,000 items. Among them are notable archaeological and paleontological collections, collections of fabrics and folk costumes from the late 18th to mid-20th centuries, numismatics, photographs, weapons, documents, and material culture items from the 19th and 20th centuries. The collections also include manuscripts, books, watercolors, drawings, and personal belongings of Decembrist V. P. Ivashov and his descendants, personal items of I. A. Goncharov and his relatives, the archive of entomologist A. A. Lyubishchev, inventor E. E. Gorin, the first chairman of the Simbirsk Regional Executive Committee V. N. Ksandrov, materials from ornithologist S. A. Buturlin, twice Hero of the Soviet Union I. S. Polbin, and others.

In 2013, plans were made to begin construction of a new museum building.