The Museum of 17th-19th Century Merchant Life is located in a unique three-storey estate house which was built in 1680 by the local merchant Semyon Yershov. The house is alternatively called Yershov House after its founder or Sapozhnikov House after its last owner. Today the house is open to the public as a museum of merchants' life in the 17th to 19th centuries. The first floor's interiors have been recreated to how they would have looked when Semyon Yershov lived here, complete with the main Red Chambers, the living quarters and the study. From here you can walk down the steep steps built into the walls down to the cellar which has examples of old sledges and tools or up to the top floor which has exhibits on Gorokhovets' leading merchant families and a large collection of samovars. The museum is run as a branch of the Gorokhovets Historical and Architectural Museum.