Boom Towns is a free printable Grade 3 to Grade 5 social studies worksheet on towns that grew around a resource or a railhead, aligned to C3 Framework indicator D2.Geo.8.3-5. It prints 2 questions with an answer key on its own sheet of paper, in 25 versions that each ask different questions, so no two students in the class work from the same page. Print it from the browser or download it as a PDF — no account, no email.
Set 16 of 25 · the same problems every time you open this link.
Set 1 has all 25 in a single PDF. All 25 sets ask different questions.
Boom Towns
D2.Geo.8.3-5
NameDate
Draw a line from each town to the reason it boomed.
1.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859
Dodge City, Kansas, 1872
Beaumont, Texas, 1901
Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876
A.Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled
B.Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher
C.Grew after gold was found in the Black Hills, on Lakota land
D.Grew as a market where hunters sold bison hides to ship east by rail
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Bodie, California, 1870s
Abilene, Kansas, 1867
Sacramento, California, 1849
Skagway, Alaska, 1897
A.A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town
B.Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill
C.A railhead where cowboys drove cattle north on the Chisholm Trail
D.The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.8.3-5 · Set 16 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Boom Towns
Set 16. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859 — A (Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled) 2. Dodge City, Kansas, 1872 — D (Grew as a market where hunters sold bison hides to ship east by rail) 3. Beaumont, Texas, 1901 — B (Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher) 4. Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876 — C (Grew after gold was found in the Black Hills, on Lakota land)
2.1. Bodie, California, 1870s — A (A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town) 2. Abilene, Kansas, 1867 — C (A railhead where cowboys drove cattle north on the Chisholm Trail) 3. Sacramento, California, 1849 — B (Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill) 4. Skagway, Alaska, 1897 — D (The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.8.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.