The building dates from 1866 and it became a memorial house after 1955. Under the auspices of the Cluj Subsidiary of the Romanian Academy, on the 22nd of May 1955, the Memorial House was inaugurated. The first manager was the known exegete of Transylvanian glass icons Ioan Apostol Popescu. The collection is made up of pieces of furniture, manuscripts, letters, books edited at Gherla, publications led by the folklorist Ion Pop Reteganul (1853 - 1905). The collection helped reconstruct the atmosphere of an intellectual's country house, dating from the middle of the 19th century.