The 103.7 frequency now occupied by WPKQ began in March 1952 as WMOU-FM, the FM sister station to WMOU (1230 AM) in Berlin.[4] The stations became WKCB and WKCQ in 1957,[5] but returned to their original callsigns two years later.[6] WMOU-FM separated from the simulcast of WMOU in 1972 and became WXLQ-FM, airing a rock and oldies format. This evolved to a mix of top 40 and oldies in 1975.[7] The station reverted to the WMOU simulcast in 1977 (but retained the WXLQ call letters).
A construction permit for a new 103.7, using WXLQ's former transmitter, was granted on August 8, 1983,[8] to New England Broadcasting, Inc. (formed by Steve Powell, the son of previous WMOU owner Bob Powell) and revived the WMOU call letters (without the "-FM" suffix),[9] with a license to cover issued on March 15, 1984.[10]
The station moved its transmitter to Mount Washington in 1990, and changed its format to hot adult contemporary as WZPK, "103.7 Peak-FM". Branding themselves as "The Peak of New England" with a Class C flamethrower signal that reached from Boston to Montreal, the station debuted by asking on-air to its audience what they wanted on air by airing the message "We are building YOUR Superstation. Please tell us what you would like to hear", and supplied a 1-800 number for listeners to contact the station.
On July 6, 2015, WPKQ split from its simulcast with WOKQ and rebranded as "103.7 The Peak". In doing so, it moved its studios from WOKQ's facility in Dover to Townsquare's studios in North Conway and Portland, Maine, alongside fellow Mount Washington broadcaster WHOM.[14] By 2021, the station's programming was again largely originated from WOKQ, though it retained localized commercial breaks and the "Peak" branding.[15]
On October 22, 2021, at noon, WPKQ dropped its country format and began stunting towards a new format to launch on Monday, October 25. That day, the station began simulcasting a relaunched version of the alternative rock format from Portland, Maine-market sister station WCYY; owing to WPKQ's Mount Washington's transmitter, the change resulted in WCYY's programming becoming available in much of northern New England.[15] WCYY's expansion, which also included WJZN in Augusta, Maine, coincided with the syndication launch of Toucher and Rich from WBZ-FM in Boston, with the WCYY stations, along with Bangor sister station WEZQ, serving as the program's first affiliates.[15] The WCYY stations dropped Toucher and Rich in October 2023.[16]
