Roanne's municipal museum occupies a fine mansion dating from the end of the 17th century. The museum owes much to the renown of Joseph Déchelette (1862-1914), a great figure of national archaeology, a precursor of ancient ceramology and the author of the first Manual of Prehistoric, Celtic and Gallo-Roman Archaeology. Appointed curator in 1892, this learned man was a genuine patron, adding considerably to the wealth of the museum, to which he bequeathed his collections and his important library.
The building was built according to the Parisian model. It was intended for François-Claude de Valence de Minardière. The project was entrusted to the Roanne architect De Lavoipierre who produced the plan of the mansion, of its outbuildings and of the garden in 1787. The construction of the building was completed, as regards the fabric, in 1789. The fitting-out and the stairs do not seem then completed. The Valence de Minardière family probably did not move into its new residence which it gave up in 1793.

In 1896, Joseph Déchelette bought this vast residence and the work he undertook was limited to the creation of a vast library and of his office in the former orangery. On his death, his widow offered the building to the town of Roanne so that the museum could be installed in it on the first floor, in 1923. The ground floor remained occupied by the archaeologist's widow until her death in 1957.

The number two establishment in the département by the quality of its collections in Fine Arts and Archaeology, the museum has an original identity practically unique in France since it has, associated with it, an archaeological finds store and a research library specialising in Archaeology and Art History.