[4] The first known radio activities at William & Mary occurred in the spring of 1956, when a group of students, using equipment purchased in their own financial initiative, broadcast a weak signal from the Chapman House.

Although many students and some faculty were behind the effort, this early initiative failed due to lack of administrative backing, according to a letter to the editor by former WCWM Program Director Fred Schaffer (class of 1957) that was published in the Flat Hat, the William & Mary newspaper, on March 10, 1959.

During 1975 and 1976, WCWM upgraded its studios and transmitter to stereophonic operation and increased its effective radiated power to 1,600 watts, according to former student John Keimig (class of 1978), who worked in the station's engineering department during that time.

The whole process of procuring and installing facility equipment and submitting the necessary applications to the Federal Communications Commission was handled by student volunteers who then held leadership positions at the station.

Subsequent WCWM Fests have featured headliners such as Frankie Cosmos,[11] Remember Sports, Half Waif,[12] Vagabon, and Lucy Dacus.