The museum was founded on 30 December 1959 by Decision of the Mogilyov Region Executive Committee of Workers' Deputies, opened for visitors on 15 October 1961 on the basis of the materials which had been collected by M. R. Melnikov. On 16 February 2008, the museum was located in a new building, the 18th century architectural monument — Potemkin's Palace. The main aim of the exhibition is to reproduce different events which took place in different historic periods by reconstructing the interiors in the style of the 19th century, which are inserted in the room of a certain architectural monument.