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 17 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.
Abilene, Kansas, 1867
Butte, Montana, 1880s
Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876
Skagway, Alaska, 1897
A.Grew after gold was found in the Black Hills, on Lakota land
B.The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike
C.A railhead where cowboys drove cattle north on the Chisholm Trail
D.Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Sacramento, California, 1849
Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859
Bodie, California, 1870s
Leadville, Colorado, 1877
A.A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town
B.Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled
C.A silver boom town high in the Rocky Mountains
D.Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.8.3-5 · Set 17 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Boom Towns
Set 17. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Abilene, Kansas, 1867 — C (A railhead where cowboys drove cattle north on the Chisholm Trail) 2. Butte, Montana, 1880s — D (Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines) 3. Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876 — A (Grew after gold was found in the Black Hills, on Lakota land) 4. Skagway, Alaska, 1897 — B (The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike)
2.1. Sacramento, California, 1849 — D (Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill) 2. Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859 — B (Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled) 3. Bodie, California, 1870s — A (A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town) 4. Leadville, Colorado, 1877 — C (A silver boom town high in the Rocky Mountains)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.8.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.