The simple Franconian half-timbered building can be traced back to 1738. In the 18th century, today's rear building was still used as a "Stadel" (barn) and probably also as a butcher's shop. The rear building and the house garden border on a preserved, albeit altered, remnant of the former town wall. Johannes Henning, Rudolf Baumbach's maternal grandfather, acquired the building in 1816. After his death in 1846, the family of the ducal personal physician Julius Baumbach moved in. The house remained in the Baumbach family until the Meiningen line died out in 1920, when it was acquired by the town for use as a museum.

With the establishment of the Baumbachhaus as a museum Between 1924 and 1937, minor structural changes were made to the interior. Until the building was closed in 1974, the first floor of the front building was still used as living space. Major structural changes to both the interior and the façade were made during the renovation and conversion work before the reopening in 1982. At that time, not only was the half-timbering exposed, but the house was also given its current roof design and room layout on the first floor.

A further renovation of the building took place in 2002. Today, it is home to the Literature Museum of the Meiningen Museums.