Earliest West Virginia Radio Stations

Stations marked with an asterisk were still on the air in 1980.

CALLCITYLICENSEESTARTCOMMENT
WHDMorgantownWest Virginia UniversityLicensed: March 16, 1922Deleted Nov. 19, 1923
WAAOCharlestonRadio Service Co.Licensed: April 10, 1922Deleted Dec. 1, 1922
WAARHuntingtonGroves-Thornton Hardware Co.Licensed: April 13, 1922Deleted Dec. 4, 1922
WHAJBluefieldBluefield Daily Telegraph & E. K. KittsLicensed: July 1922...
WHAKClarksburgRoberts Hardware Co.Licensed: July 1922...
WPAZCharlestonDr. John R. KochLicensed: January 1923...
WSAZ*Pomeroy, OHChase Electric Shop, Glenn E. ChaseLicensed October 10 or 16, 1923Later calls: WGNT, WRVC, WTKZ, WRVC; moved to Huntington
WDBDMartinsburgHerman E. BurnsLicensed: 1924...
WIBRWeirtonThurman A. OwingsLicensed: 1925Later moved to Steubenville OH
WWVA*WheelingJohn C. Strobel Jr.On air: December 16, 1926...
WOBU*CharlestonCharleston Radio Broadcasting Co.On air: October 12, 1927Later call: WCHS
WQBJClarksburgJohn RaikesLicensed: November 1927...
WQBZWeirtonJ. H. ThompsonLicensed: May 1928Deleted March 1930
WMMN*FairmontHolt-Rome Novelty Co.Licensed: December 10, 1928...
WHIS*BluefieldDaily Telegraph Printing Co.On air: June 27, 1929...
WPARParkersburgChancellor HotelOn air: July 12, 1935Later calls: WIKS, WLTP
WBLKClarksburgCharleston Broadcasting Co.On air: April 1937Later calls: WBOY, WBBN, WPQZ, WKKW, WPQZ, WOBG
WJLS*BeckleyJoe L. Smith Jr.On air: March 5, 1939...
WBTH*WilliamsonWilliamson Broadcasting Corp.On air: April 19, 1939...
WGKV*CharlestonKanawha Valley Broadcasting Co. On air: Sept. 24, 1939Later calls: WHMS, WTGR, WHMS, WGKV, WXIT, WCZR, WSWW
WLOG*LoganC. H. Frey and R. O. GreeverOn air: 1940...
WBRWWelchMcDowell Service Co.On air: August 25, 1940Subsequent WMCD/WOVE/WXEE operated on same frequency
WAJR*MorgantownWest Virginia Radio Corp.On air: December 1940...
WKWK*WheelingCommunity Broadcasting Inc.On air: May 2, 1941Later call: WBBD


EARLIEST FM STATIONS

The correct sequence of these stations has not been confirmed, as dates given to Broadcasting Yearbook may not have been correct. However, it is certain that WCFC and WJLS-FM were the first two FM stations in West Virginia. The on-air date for WCFC is confirmed by contemporary newspaper accounts and the on-air date for WJLS-FM appears certainly to be early 1947. The station has claimed an on-air date of November 1946, but this is almost certainly incorrect.

WCFC, Beckley. The first FM station in West Virginia was WCFC Beckley, which began regular programming at 2 p.m. on August 15, 1946, on 101.1 MHz. Its first experimental transmission was August 12, 1946, at 10:13 p.m. WCFC-FM ceased operations on June 30, 1951.

WJLS-FM, Beckley. The second FM station in West Virginia was WJLS-FM, which apparently went on the air in February 1947. WJLS-FM is the oldest surviving FM station in West Virginia, if we ignore the fact that the station suspended broadcasting for a time in the 1950s.

WHIS-FM, Bluefield. The station went on the air in July 1947, according to the 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook.

WWVA-FM, Wheeling. The station went on the air in September 1947, according to the 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook.

WPLH-FM, Huntington. The station went on the air in November 1947, according to the 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook.

WHTN-FM, Huntington; WLOG-FM, Logan; WKWK-FM, Wheeling. These stations went on the air in December 1947, according to the 1948 Broadcasting Yearbook.


SPECIAL LAND STATIONS

CallLicenseeCityFirst listed in
Radio Service Bulletin
8ZWJohn C. Stroebel Jr.WheelingMarch 1915
8XGC. W. Waggoner (WVU)MorgantownJuly 1, 1916
8YAWest Virginia UniversityMorgantownAugust 1, 1919
8YHWest Virginia UniversityMorgantownDecember 1, 1920
8YFCamp GreenbrierAldersonNovember 1, 1920


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