The Museum collection were based on the paintings, sculptures, books and liturgical objects, removed from the former Greek Catholic churches by the Russians during the liquidation of the Union in 1875.

World War I put an end to the activities of the Museum. Extensive collections were destroyed and stolen. A few monuments survived the war hit and in 1919 they were transported to the Gymnasium of S. Czarnecki, where the former school director, Wiktor Ambroziewicz, started to create the first Museum of Chełm in the independent Poland from scratch.

World War II brought large losses in exhibits. After the war the organization of the museum was overtaken by Kazimierz Janczykowski, regionalist of Chełm. Since 1953,the archaeological exhibits, and since 1969 other museum collections, have been transferred from the High School of S. Czarnecki to the renovated Piarist Collegium building.

Currently these are: Department of Archaeology and Ethnography, Department of History, Nature and Education, Department of Art and the Library.