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 4 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.
Bodie, California, 1870s
Beaumont, Texas, 1901
Skagway, Alaska, 1897
Sacramento, California, 1849
A.A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town
B.The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike
C.Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill
D.Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher
2.Draw a line from each one to its match.
Virginia City, Nevada, 1859
Leadville, Colorado, 1877
Butte, Montana, 1880s
Dodge City, Kansas, 1872
A.A silver boom town high in the Rocky Mountains
B.Grew over the Comstock Lode, a huge find of silver
C.Grew as a market where hunters sold bison hides to ship east by rail
D.Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines
LessonPrint · D2.Geo.8.3-5 · Set 4 · free to copy for classroom use
Answer key — Boom Towns
Set 4. Prints on its own sheet.
1.1. Bodie, California, 1870s — A (A gold-mining town that is now an empty ghost town) 2. Beaumont, Texas, 1901 — D (Boomed after the Spindletop oil gusher) 3. Skagway, Alaska, 1897 — B (The port where gold seekers started for the Klondike) 4. Sacramento, California, 1849 — C (Grew as the supply town for miners near Sutter's Mill)
2.1. Virginia City, Nevada, 1859 — B (Grew over the Comstock Lode, a huge find of silver) 2. Leadville, Colorado, 1877 — A (A silver boom town high in the Rocky Mountains) 3. Butte, Montana, 1880s — D (Grew around some of the world's richest copper mines) 4. Dodge City, Kansas, 1872 — C (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.