In fact, the pioneers had a full set of sweet teeth per person. The folks in Stephen F. Austin's colony between the Brazos and Colorado Rivers were producing sugar for the table as early as the 1830's. Most of their sugar production was for home consumption since exporting anything was rather difficult. South Texas around Fort Bend County turned out to be prime country for raising sugar cane. The Imperial Sugar Company of Sugar Land, Texas, which distributes nationwide, is said to be the oldest continually operating business in Texas.
Sugar cane is just a real big grass that contains sweet juice.
The juice is pressed out of the cane and boiled down to get sugar. The table sugar you get today is highly refined and bears little resemblance to pioneer-made sugar. Before Austin's pioneers were making sugar, Texas had a natural sweet product made by little six legged critters. No one knows for sure how long honey bees have been around, but it has been a spell. The bees haul nectar from the flowers back to their house, which is called a hive, and it's processed into honey.