A few years later in 1902, Gamble's successor as Conservator of Forests Horace Arichibald Gass succeeded in establishing a museum for forestry.

It was opened to the public 15 April 1902 by Baron Ampthill, the then Governor of Madras, at that point simply referred to as the Forest Museum at Coimbatore.

When Gass, the first curator, retired in 1905, his successor F. A. Lodge renamed the museum in his honor.

During 1942–47, the museum was closed and the buildings used as shelters for World War II evacuees from Malta and Greece.

It is currently run by the Institute of Forest Genetics and Tree Breeding (IFGTB), which is situated in the same campus.