The station went on the air as WJTD on 1994-03-25. On 1997-06-30, the station changed its call sign to WCLX, on 1998-01-23 to WYPC-FM, on 1998-07-10 to WCLX, on 1998-12-14 to WJLI, and on 1999-09-24 to the current WYRO.[4]
WYRO was previously branded as "Classic Rock 98.7" before changing it to "Pure Rock 98.7". The station has been the radio home for Vinton County Vikings high school sports for the last several years.