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 20 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.
Skagway, Alaska, 1897
Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859
Bodie, California, 1870s
Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876
A.The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike
B.Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled
C.A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town
D.Grew after gold was found in the Black Hills, on Lakota land
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Butte, Montana, 1880s
Sacramento, California, 1849
Beaumont, Texas, 1901
Dodge City, Kansas, 1872
A.Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines
B.Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher
C.Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill
D.Grew as a market where hunters sold bison hides to ship east by rail
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.8.3-5 · Set 20 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Boom Towns
Set 20. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Skagway, Alaska, 1897 — A (The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike) 2. Titusville, Pennsylvania, 1859 — B (Where the first commercial oil well in the US was drilled) 3. Bodie, California, 1870s — C (A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town) 4. Deadwood, South Dakota, 1876 — D (Grew after gold was found in the Black Hills, on Lakota land)
2.1. Butte, Montana, 1880s — A (Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines) 2. Sacramento, California, 1849 — C (Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill) 3. Beaumont, Texas, 1901 — B (Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher) 4. Dodge City, Kansas, 1872 — D (Grew as a market where hunters sold bison hides to ship east by rail)
Last reviewed 2026-09-05. Aligned to D2.Geo.8.3-5 of the C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards.