The station
signed on the air on October 15, 1988. The power was 3,000 watts, a fraction of its current output. The original
call sign was WMYJ, playing an
adult contemporary format for a year as "Y-98". The studios were at 4910 Richmond Street in Erie. WMYJ was purchased by Bob Winters (WinCapp Broadcasting) over the summer of 1989. The format was switch to
country music at noon on September 11, 1989, and the station took the call letters WXTA. WXTA was sold to Jim Embrescia's Media One Group in 1996, then to Regent Communications (now
Townsquare Media) in 1999, then to
Citadel Broadcasting in 2004, and most recently to
Cumulus Media in 2011. Former air personalities at WXTA include "Uncle Fred" Horton, Bobby Reed, Ron Kline, Mike McKay, Natalie Massing, John Cunningham, "Big John" Jacobs, Ed Beeler, Bobbi Weston, Brian Williams, Rick Shigo, Chris Atkins, Dale Thompson, Chet Price, Bill Shannon, Laura Luke, Jim Mirabello, Adam Reese, John Gallagher, Tom Lavery, Sammy James, Jay Foyst, Herb Palmer, Dan "Shoeless" Sheldon, Ellie McVay, Truckin' Tom, Cindy Wear and Becca Lynn. Morning Personality "Uncle Fred" Horton died on March 4, 2008. On February 3, 2014, WXTA, along with nine other Cumulus-owned country music stations, made the switch to going under the
Nash FM branding. On March 28, 2024, the station dropped the Nash FM branding, rebranding to
Erie Country 97.9. Former
syndicated programming on WXTA included
After Midnite with Blair Garner,
Big D and Bubba,
Country Gold Saturday Night and
Neon Nights with Lia. Current on-air personalities include Mike Sheffield, Jim Griffey, Nicole Dohoda and Chuck Stevens. Stevens is also the station's Program Director. On-air features include Sheffield in the Morning (Mike Sheffield), Country Cartunes at 5, Kickin' it with Kix (Kix Brooks), and Retro Country. ==FM translator==