WRWD-FM
country music radio station in Highland, New York, United States
WRWD-FM (107.3 MHz, "Country 107.3") is a country music radio station licensed to Highland, New York, and primarily serving the mid-Hudson Valley of New York. The station broadcasts at 330 watts ERP from a tower near Illinois Mountain in Marlborough, New York shared with sister station WBWZ. The station is owned and operated by iHeartMedia, Inc. Its studios are in Arlington, New York.
History
WRWD was put on the air in September 1989 by apple orchard owner William H. ("Bud") Walker who used the call letters to pay tribute to his children, Rachel, William Jr, and David. WRWD took on the country format long avoided by area stations at a time when past failures daunted existing owners and out-of-market stations from New York City, Albany and Hartford were garnering significant shares in the Hudson Valley. At the outset, most programming on the station was satellite fed with former WEOK personality Ken Gonyea at the helm for Mornings.
A major change took place in 1990, as Walker gave control of the station to Thom Williams who replaced Ken Gonyea in mornings and as program director while taking the station in a new country direction. WRWD at this time added an AM simulcast in WWLE (1170 AM), a daytime station licensed to Cornwall-on-Hudson which would soon take on the WRWD calls with the FM becoming suffixed. Also added were FM translators in Newburgh, Middletown, and Kingston, all of which either signed off or took on simulcasting new stations by 2000. By 1992, WRWD added former WBPM personality Mike Vincent to their afternoon roster, who later left WRWD by February 1996 for middays/Production Director for WGNY-FM 103.1 in Newburgh.
The public source identifies “WRWD-FM” as country music radio station in Highland, New York, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around WRWD-FM, country and music.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “WRWD-FM”, the useful work is to connect “country music radio station in Highland, New York, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 24, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7955407. Authority coordinates are 41.700, -74.003. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1989, 1990, 1170 and 2000.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “WRWD-FM”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow WRWD-FM primary sources, WRWD-FM archive and WRWD-FM research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “WRWD-FM”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “WRWD-FM” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.