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 2 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
Virginia City, Nevada, 1859
Butte, Montana, 1880s
Beaumont, Texas, 1901
A.Grew over the Comstock Lode, a huge find of silver
B.Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher
C.Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines
D.Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Leadville, Colorado, 1877
Bodie, California, 1870s
Skagway, Alaska, 1897
Abilene, Kansas, 1867
A.A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town
B.The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike
C.A silver boom town high in the Rocky Mountains
D.A railhead where cowboys drove cattle north on the Chisholm Trail
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.8.3-5 · Set 2 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Boom Towns
Set 2. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859 — D (Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled) 2. Virginia City, Nevada, 1859 — A (Grew over the Comstock Lode, a huge find of silver) 3. Butte, Montana, 1880s — C (Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines) 4. Beaumont, Texas, 1901 — B (Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher)
2.1. Leadville, Colorado, 1877 — C (A silver boom town high in the Rocky Mountains) 2. Bodie, California, 1870s — A (A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town) 3. Skagway, Alaska, 1897 — B (The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike) 4. Abilene, Kansas, 1867 — D (A railhead where cowboys drove cattle north on the Chisholm Trail)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.8.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.