Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition: 1  contest(Noun) controversy; debate. 2  contest(Noun) struggle for superiority; combat. 3  contest(Noun) a competition. 4  contest(Verb) to contend. 5  contest(Verb) to call into question; to oppose.
Centerville, Iowa. Centerville is a city in and the county seat of Appanoose County, Iowa, United States. The population was 5,528 in the 2010 census, a decline from 5,924 in 2000. After the turn of the 20th century Centerville had a booming coal mining industry that attracted many European immigrants.
The new owner built a home and filed a plat for the town of Centerville, offering lots for $10 each, with one lot free to buyers who built houses. In 1891, the population, over 1,000, found its mail confused with that of another Centerville in the state, and the name of the town was changed to Centralia. (Washington - A guide to the Evergreen State, WPA American Guide Series, Washington State Historical Society, 1941). It was officially incorporated as Centralia on February 3, 1886. The city was the site of the infamous Centralia Massacre in 1919.