The museum is located in the former Saint-Léger Abbey. See: halls of archeology, local history and painting. In 1847, the Société Historique de Soissons set itself the task of creating a museum. Originally installed in the town hall in 1857, the collections were damaged by the war of 1914-1918. In 1933, a new museum was opened in the former Saint-Léger Abbey, where it still stands today. From 1950 the museum could be reorganized. It continues to be enriched by discoveries from archaeological excavations in the Aisne Valley and local history documents. The painting collections are replenished with the help of FRAM (Fund for the Acquisition of Regional Museums). In a set renovated in 2019, the museum's Fine Arts Hall features a new painting on the theme of love. The collections interpret this universal feeling in many forms, regardless of time and civilizations. Divine, intimate, legendary or destructive love has inspired artists. They drew from the sources of Greco-Roman mythology, biblical and historical evidence, and sometimes, more simply, from their own experience. The catalog of wishes of the Ministry of Culture has enriched this love journey with a portrait of Gabrielle d'Estrées en Diane. This painting is on loan from the National Museum of the Castle of Fontainebleau.