On June 23, 1840, members from Tours of the Société française pour la conservation des monuments historiques (now the Société française d'archéologie) gathered in commission (banker Henry Goüin (1782–1861), physician Alexandre Giraudet (1797–1863), industrialist Noël Champoiseau (1795–1859), and abbot François Manceau (1805–1855)[1] to develop and present the statutes of a new association at a public meeting.

It was recognized as a public utility in June 1872 by Jules Simon, Ministry of National Education, thanks to Charles de Grandmaison, the 7th president of the society.

Its collections, comprising more than 30,000 pieces, the result of donations from members and purchases, span from prehistory to contemporary times, mostly related to Touraine.

Having become the owner of the former Saint-Libert chapel in 2011, it had it restored and fitted out with the aim of making it its headquarters as well as a privileged space for work, meetings, and exhibitions.

[4] It has since been reconstituted and relocated in 1958 to the building of the new municipal library, then in 2012 to the ground floor of the Logis des Gouverneurs of the Château de Tours, where the reading room and public reception are located, and in 2016, to its first floor (for 55 m2), which allowed it, on the one hand, to redeploy its collections and repatriate the stock of periodicals still stored at the municipal library, and on the other hand, to expand its workspace and activities.