The Volzhsky Historical and Local History Museum opened its doors on April 4, 1970, as a branch of the Volgograd Regional Local History Museum. The first head was K. V. Mitereva. At the time of its opening, the museum already had a significant collection of over 4,000 exhibits. These were mainly documents and items related to the history of the construction of the Volga Hydroelectric Station, as well as the industrial, cultural, and social life of the city. The museum staff actively studies the history of the Zavolzhye region.

Since August 1994, the museum began its independent activities, transforming from a branch into a full-fledged historical and local history museum. For over 20 years, it was headed by A. I. Korysheva, under whom unique collections of folk costumes, samovars, and tableware were gathered.

Since 2012, the Volzhsky Museum and Exhibition Complex, of which the historical and local history museum is a part, has been headed by S. A. Anisin.

From January 2017 to April 2020, the director of the complex was Mikhail Adelievich Saifutdinov, a member of the Union of Designers of Russia.

Since November 2020, the management of the museum complex has been taken over by former KVN participant Yuri Ryzhov.

The museum houses about 70,000 exhibits. The main part consists of thematic collections, but there are also typological ones: painting, graphics, numismatics, phaleristics, as well as collections of clocks, costumes, furniture, and tableware.

Currently, the museum has permanent exhibitions: "The History of the Construction of the Volga Hydroelectric Station," "The World of Nomads," "The History of the Village of Verkhnyaya Akhtuba," "The Cossack Household Room," and paintings by Volga artists are also displayed.

The historical and local history museum is one of the major cultural centers of the city. Creative evenings and meetings dedicated to significant nationwide and local dates, lectures and master classes by artists, as well as round tables and seminars are held here.