The Museum started out as a collection of photos of the fallen that the Association of Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs displayed on the walls of rented houses. They began immediately after the revolution, moving the display from house to house wherever they could find the space. They then moved to the nearby Casa Cultura, once the house of Guardia Nacional officer René Molina and now a center of artesanía and muralists.
The mothers accumulated more photos and memorabilia from the war, collecting donations of clothing, photographs, and other belongings from family members of the fallen. They themselves wrote the descriptions on the wall, explaining the lives of their children and other figures and events from the decade of violence. Through many meetings and much effort, the mothers compiled all the information that remains in the Gallery today.
In 1984, the mothers found their permanent location in what was once the house of a wealthy Somocista. The mothers, together with a prison labor crew, constructed the museum, feeding the prisoners as they worked. A Chicano American and Mexican artist visited the museum and donated their time and skills to paint the murals throughout the museum- all of which are based on images of the Sandinista revolution. The municipal government now owns the land of the museum, with the understanding that they will protect it as a space that preserves national history. It is only through the dedication of the mothers, who show up every day on a volunteer basis and donate resources from their own meager incomes, that the museum continues to preserve and share this important piece of history.