In 1903, Mott took over the firm, steering it to produce wheels and axle assemblies for the fledgling automobile industry.

He began doing business with William C. Durant and Josiah Dallas Dort owners of Buick, and in 1906 moved the company to Flint.

[2] In 1916,[3] Mott and his wife Ethel Culbert Harding (whom he had married in 1903), decided to build a home for their family.

After her death, she left money to the Ruth Mott Foundation, which owns and maintains Applewood Estate.

[3] Applewood Estate residence is a Jacobethan Revival structure located in a landscaped, rolling lawn among mature trees.

The center bay projects, and contains a modest doorway flanked with modified Doric pilasters and topped with a rounded-arch pediment.

[2] Also on the grounds are a greenhouse, a garage, a large bred brick barn, a chicken coop, and a gatekeepers cottage.