The building was built in 1907 as a Medical Centre and later served as the Office of the Department of Education and was made the Sarawak Textile Museum in August 2000.

The museum houses and exhibits local textiles and clothing woven and worn by Sarawakians. Among them are Pua Kumbu from the Iban community and Kain Songket Melayu Sarawak. The concept of the exhibition is that the textile process is produced starting from the provision of yarn so that it is ready to become a piece of fabric. The aim is to provide visitors with the opportunity to interact with exhibition materials other than the 'touch on' media provided.