WWNC, ASHEVILLE'S FIRST
RADIO STATION, OPENS IN 1927
Photo: Asheville Citizen Newspaper, February 20, 1927
Great Fanfare for the Opening
On Sunday, February 20, 1927, the Asheville Citizen newspaper gave full page coverage to the grand opening events planned the next day for WWNC's first official broadcast. You can read some of these articles using the links below.
WWNC was launched less than seven years after the first commercial radio broadcast station (KDKA in late 1920 in Pittsburgh) and one year after RCA formed NBC, the first national radio network. It was originally funded by the Asheville Chamber of Commerce, which raised $38,000 (nearly $500,000 in today's dollars).
Within a few years,WWNC became one of the leading radio stations in the country. It was hailed locally for bringing entertainment, news and public service broadcasts to the rural mountains. It could be heard clearly not only in the Carolinas, but in many east coast and gulf coast states (as far away as Texas).
Read this interesting 2017 post about WWNC by the North Carolina Room at the Pack Library in Asheville. Here also is a link to a special publication in recognition of the first anniversary of WWNC.
Links to vintage newspaper articles
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Mountain Express article (4/2019) on the launch of WWNC in 1927
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WWNC Goes On The Air (2/20/1927)
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Asheville Firms Cooperating with WWNC (2/20/1927)
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WWNC Flashes Greetings Across the Continent (2/20/1927)
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National Radio Program Schedule (2/20/1927)
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Radio Old in Theory but Not in Practice (companion story 2/20/1927)
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Photos of Artists Who Performed on WWNC (1928)
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WWNC Rated One of the Country's Best Radio Stations (1929)
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Fourth Birthday (1931)
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Growth Traced (1931)
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New Equipment Installed (1934)
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Technology - how a radio station "speaks" (1937)
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Pioneer's History Traced (1939)
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Local Leaders Praise Efforts (1939)
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Progress Since Opening (1942)
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Preparation for World War II (1944)
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Thirty-Fifth Birthday (1962)
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Fortieth Birthday (1967)
The stamp above is called a Verified Reception Stamp for Asheville's station WWNC. For more information, click here to see a stamp album from the 1920s.