This summary highlights information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary may not contain all of the information that is important to you. This prospectus includes information about our business and our financial and operating data. Before making an investment decision, we encourage you to read the entire prospectus carefully, including the risks discussed in the "Risk Factors" section beginning at page 11. We also encourage you to review our financial statements and the other information we provide in the reports and other documents that we file with the SEC as described under "Where You Can Find More Information" at page 33.

We use the terms "we," "us," "our," "the Company" and "Corning" in this prospectus to refer to Corning Natural Gas Corporation.

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We do not generate sufficient cash flows from operations to meet all of our cash needs. As part of our 2009 rate order set by the New York Public Service Commission ("NYPSC"), we are required to make substantial capital expenditures to upgrade our distribution system. We also continue to have debt retirement obligations of approximately $1.5 million per year. In addition, we have made contractual commitments for additional capital expenditures related to the transport of gas from the Marcellus shale deposits and other commitments.

If an insufficient number of the subscription rights offered pursuant to this offering are exercised, we may not have sufficient funds to meet our cash needs and our inability to do so would have a material adverse effect on our business and results of operations.

In order to fund our extraordinary capital expenditures, even if the subscription rights offered hereby are fully exercised, we may need to obtain additional equity or debt financing. We are currently in negotiations with institutional lenders to obtain debt financing to supplement the proceeds of this offering on a 60/40 debt to equity raised ratio. The sale of additional equity securities could result in dilution to our shareholders. The incurrence of debt would result in increased debt service obligations and could result in operating and financing covenants that would restrict our operations. Additional financing may have unacceptable terms or may not be available at all. If we cannot raise additional capital on acceptable terms, we may not be able to finance the expansion and upgrading of our distribution system, take advantage of future opportunities or respond to competitive pressures or unanticipated capital requirements.

Prices for natural gas are subject to volatile fluctuations in response to changes in supply and other market conditions. While these costs are usually passed on to customers pursuant to natural gas adjustment clauses and therefore do not pose a direct risk to earnings, we are unable to predict what effect a sharp increase in natural gas prices may have on our customers' energy consumption or ability to pay. Higher prices to customers can lead to higher bad debt expense and customer conservation. Higher prices may also have an adverse effect on our cash flow as typically we are required to pay for our natural gas prior to receiving payments for the natural gas from our customers.

Our ability to provide natural gas and to fully utilize our pipelines and storage capacities depends both on our own operations and facilities and that of third parties, including local and nearby gas producers and natural gas pipeline operators from whom we receive our natural gas supply. Reductions in production or decisions by gas producers to reduce the flow of gas through our pipelines, or the loss of use or destruction of our facilities or the facilities of third parties due to extreme weather conditions, breakdowns, war, acts of terrorism or other occurrences could greatly reduce potential earnings and cash flows and increase our costs of repairs and replacement of assets.

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Although we carry property insurance to protect our assets and have regulatory agreements that provide for the recovery of losses for certain uncontrollable incidents, our losses may not be fully recoverable through insurance or customer rates. We have limited protection against changes in the flow of gas through our pipelines by gas producers.

The demand for natural gas is directly affected by weather conditions in the Northeast. Significantly warmer than normal weather conditions in our service areas could greatly reduce our earnings and cash flows as a result of lower gas sales levels. Although we mitigate the risk of warmer winter weather through the weather normalization and revenue decoupling clauses in our tariffs, we may not always be able to fully recover all lost revenues.

There are inherent hazards and operation risks in gas distribution activities, such as leaks, accidental explosions and mechanical problems that could cause substantial financial losses. These risks could, if they occur, result in the loss of human life, significant damage to property, environmental pollution, impairment of operations and substantial losses to us. The location of pipelines and storage facilities near populated areas, including residential areas, commercial business centers and industrial sites, could increase the level of damages resulting from these risks. These activities may subject us to litigation and administrative proceedings that could result in substantial monetary judgments, fines or penalties against us. To the extent that the occurrence of any of these events is not fully covered by insurance, they could adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.

Our business follows the economic cycle of the customers in our service regions: Corning, Bath, Virgil, and Hammondsport, New York. A falling, slow or sluggish economy that would reduce the demand for natural gas in the areas in which we are doing business by forcing temporary plant shutdowns, closing operations or slow economic growth would reduce our earnings potential.

Many of our commercial and industrial customers use natural gas in the production of their products. During economic downturns, these customers may see a decrease in demand for their products, which in turn may lead to a decrease in the amount of natural gas they require for production.

During any economic slowdown there is typically an increase in individual and corporate customer bankruptcies. An increase in customer bankruptcies would increase our bad debt expenses and reduce our cash flows.

Our operations are subject to the jurisdiction of the NYPSC. The NYPSC approves the rates that we may charge to our customers. If we are required in a rate proceeding to reduce the rates we charge our customers, or if we are unable to obtain approval for rate relief from the NYPSC, particularly when necessary to cover increased costs, including costs that may be incurred in connection with mandated infrastructure improvements, our earnings may decrease.

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Our success depends in large part upon the continued services of our senior executives and other key employees. Although we have entered into an employment agreement with Michael I. German, our president and chief executive officer, Mr. German and other significant employees who have not entered into employment agreements may terminate their employment at any time. The loss of the services of any significant employee could have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our five largest shareholders own approximately 70% of the Company. This concentration of ownership could be disadvantageous to other shareholders with differing interests from these shareholders.

We are in a geographical area with a number of interstate pipelines and local production sources. If a major customer decided to connect directly to either an interstate pipeline or a local producer, our earnings and revenues would decrease.

Offers made to acquire the Company would divert management attention and could be costly to respond to. For example, an unsolicited tender offer for the Company's common stock could negatively affect our relationship with our institutional lenders as well as our relations with the NYPSC and other agencies. On March1, 2010, the Company's directors received a non-binding proposal from Energy, Inc., to purchase all the common shares of the Company for $25 per share in cash and Energy, Inc. common stock. The proposal set forth in the letter would total approximately $28 million assuming conversion of all the Company's outstanding warrants and options. Analyzing and responding to the proposal may be time consuming and require the Company to engage lawyers and accountants. See "About Corning Natural Gas Corporation - Recent Discussions with Energy, Inc." below for more details on the proposal.

In July-August 2009, the Company provided all of its warrantholders with the opportunity to exercise their warrants at $15.00 per share, rather than the $19.00 per share exercise price which applied both at the time the warrants were issued and since August 5, 2009. The Company has been advised by the staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission that it is the position of the staff that the temporary reduction in the warrant price constituted a tender offer subject to Rule 13e-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The staff's position that the Company failed to comply with the tender offer rules could subject the Company to enforcement action by the SEC and, potentially, to private litigation. If the SEC were to take action, it could seek civil monetary penalties or a "cease and desist" order, which would require the Company to comply with the tender offer rules in the event of any future temporary reduction in the warrant exercise price. The Company cannot provide any assurance that such actions will not occur, If private litigation ensues, the likelihood of its success, or the amount of any damages that might be awarded, cannot be predicted.

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The subscription price was set by our board of directors at $18.00 per share of common stock. Our board of directors considered a number of factors in establishing the subscription price, including the historic and current market price of the common stock, our business prospects, our recent and anticipated operating results, general conditions in the securities markets, our need for capital, alternatives available to us for raising capital, the amount of proceeds desired, the pricing of similar transactions, the liquidity of our common stock and the level of risk to our investors.

The subscription price does not necessarily bear any relationship to the results of our past operations, cash flows, net income, or financial condition, the book value of our assets, or any other established criteria for value, nor does the trading history of our common stock accurately predict its future market performance. Because of the manner in which we have established the subscription price, the trading price of our common stock may be below the subscription price even at the closing of the rights offering. On June 1, 2010, the last reported sales price for our common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board (r) was $22.50 per share, which may reflect inter-dealer prices without retail mark-up or mark-down or commission and may not necessarily represent actual transactions. You should not consider the subscription price to be an indication of our value or any assurance of future value.

Even if circumstances arise after you have exercised your subscription rights that eliminate your interest in purchasing shares of our common stock, including a decline in the public trading market price of our common stock before the subscription rights expire, you will be required to purchase the shares for which you subscribed.

We may, in our discretion, extend the expiration date of the subscription period. If you exercise your subscription rights and, afterwards, the public trading market price of our common stock decreases below the subscription price - including during any potential extension of time - you may suffer a loss on your investment upon the exercise of rights to acquire the shares. If we extend the time for exercising the subscription rights, we will not extend such time more than 30 days past the original expiration date.

Until certificates are delivered, you may not be able to sell the shares of common stock that you have purchased in the rights offering. This means that you may have to wait until you (or your broker or other nominee) have received stock certificates. We will endeavor to prepare and issue the appropriate certificates as soon as practicable after the expiration of the offering. However, we cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock purchased pursuant to the exercise of rights will not decline below the subscription price before we are able to deliver your certificates. For shares purchased pursuant to the over-subscription privilege, delivery of certificates will occur as soon as practicable after all prorations and adjustments contemplated by the terms of the offering have been effected.

Any personal check used to pay for shares of common stock to be issued in this rights offering must clear prior to the expiration date of the offering, and the clearing process may require five or more business days. If you

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exercise your subscription rights, in whole or in part, and choose to pay by personal check and your check has not cleared prior to the expiration date of this rights offering, you will not have satisfied the conditions to exercise your subscription rights, you will not receive the shares you attempted to purchase, and you will lose the value of your subscription rights.

You will not earn any interest on your subscription funds while they are being held by the subscription agent pending the closing of this rights offering. In addition, if we cancel the rights offering, or if you exercise your oversubscription privilege and are not allocated all of the shares of common stock for which you over-subscribe, neither we nor the subscription agent will have any obligation with respect to the subscription rights except to return, without interest, any subscription payments to you.

There can be no assurance that any shareholders will exercise their subscription rights. There is no minimum amount of proceeds required to complete the rights offering. If you exercise the basic subscription privilege or the over-subscription privilege, but we do not raise the desired amount of capital in this rights offering, you may be investing in a company that continues to require additional capital to meet the capital needs discussed under the heading "Use of Proceeds" at page 17.

Under 2009 revisions to NY Public Service Law Section 70, individuals, and a variety of entities in addition to corporations, are restricted in their ability to purchase, acquire, take or hold more than 10% of the voting stock of gas utilities without the consent of the NYPSC. This provision has not been extensively interpreted and the Company cannot predict whether the NYPSC would determine that persons holding 10% or more of the Company's common stock before the statute was amended would need consent of the NYPSC prior to exercising rights available to all stockholders. The Company has filed a petition with the NYPSC for either an interpretation that exercise of the subscription rights would not be subject to NYPSC approval pursuant to Section 70 or, in the event that such exercise is found to be subject to Section 70, a determination that exercise of the subscription rights is in the public interest and therefore should be approved. If the NYPSC does not act favorably with respect to the petition, certain major holders of our common stock may not be able to exercise their rights and the Company may not receive as much capital from the offering as it anticipated. If that occurs, additional debt financing would be required.

We purchase, transport, distribute and sell natural gas to approximately 14,500 customers in the Corning, Hammondsport and Virgil, New York areas. We have approximately 400 miles of gas distribution and transmission pipelines in our service areas with a population of approximately 50,000. Our customer base includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers in the Corning area and a gas utility that services the Bath area.

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At May 31, 2010, we provided service to approximately 10,878 residential customers, 848 small and large commercial and municipal customers and 2,901 aggregation customers. Our largest customers are Corning Incorporated, New York State Electric & Gas and Bath Electric, Gas & Water Systems.

Our natural gas supply comes from third-party providers and from natural gas held in storage. We have entered into an asset management agreement for our natural gas supply with Atmos Energy Marketing through March 2011.

Our business is highly seasonal because a material portion of our total sales and delivery volumes is to customers whose usage varies depending upon temperature. Our present rate structure, however, includes weather normalization and revenue decoupling clauses, which are designed to mitigate the effect of departures from normal temperatures on both our earnings and cost to our customers.

Our utility operations are subject to regulation by the New York Public Service Commission, or the NYPSC, as to rates, service area, adequacy of service and safety standards.

Since 2000 domestic energy markets have experienced significant price volatility. Natural gas markets have been particularly volatile, principally due to weather and changes in supply availability. Rising natural gas prices have resulted in a surge in supply-related investment that has increased domestic production. Increasing supplies and price induced conservation have favorably impacted natural gas prices. Given the current environment, we expect that natural gas will maintain a favorable competitive position compared to other fossil fuels. Given natural gas's clean burning attributes, we believe environmental regulations may enhance this competitive outlook.

We intend to enhance shareholder value through revenue growth and reduction of our operating costs. As a gas utility, our earnings are primarily determined by a rate of return set by the NYPSC on the investments in our facilities and equipment (i.e., our rate base) to ensure service to our customers. Over the next several years, we intend to make significant capital investments to ensure the safety and reliability of our gas network. Based on these capital investments, we anticipate that we will increase our rate base. In addition, we have identified growth opportunities that we believe will contribute to our revenues, earnings and rate base, including growth in our existing service territory and expansion into new areas. We have also identified and are developing opportunities for increased connections with local and nearby production sources. We have obtained required tariffs from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to transport gas from the gas producers exploiting the Marcellus shale reserves in northern Pennsylvania. The Company has entered into agreements with a producer for transport of gas in the Company's existing pipelines from Pennsylvania to its system in New York. Upon completion of a compressor station and certain pipeline upgrades currently underway, additional quantities of Marcellus shale gas should be transported by the Company.

Our executive management team and board of directors have over 130 years of collective experience in the utility industry.

Our principal executive offices are located at 330 West William Street, Corning, New York 14830, and our telephone number is 607-936-3755. Our web site is www.corninggas.com. The information available on our web site is not part of this prospectus or any other reports filed by us with the SEC.

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On February 24, 2010, we filed a Current Report on Form 8-K describing certain preliminary discussions between senior officers of Energy, Inc. (a holding company that owns Energy West, Incorporated) and Michael I. German, our Chief Executive Officer, regarding a range of potential strategic transactions, including but not limited to the potential acquisition of Corning by Energy, Inc.

On March 1, 2010, the Company's directors received a non-binding proposal from Energy, Inc., to purchase all the common shares of the Company for $25 per share in a combination of cash and Energy, Inc. common stock. The proposal set forth in the letter would total approximately $28 million assuming conversion of all the Company's outstanding warrants and options and a value of $10.04 for the Energy, Inc. stock. Energy, Inc.'s common stock trades on the Nasdaq Global Stock Market under the trading symbol "EGAS". The proposal also contained a provision to adjust the price if the Company issues new equity which is dilutive.

The letter also proposes that three current directors of Corning be added to the Energy, Inc. Board of Directors to increase it to nine members. Corning's chief executive officer, Michael German, would be one of the three board members from Corning and would be named President and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Energy, Inc. The other current Corning board members affiliated with Energy, Inc. or its Chairman Richard Osborne would not be among Corning's nominees. No economic terms were proposed for Mr. German's employment but certain powers and responsibilities were enumerated.

Three current members of the Corning Board of Directors (Messrs. Smith, Rigo and Osborne) work for either Energy, Inc. or another company controlled by Richard M. Osborne, the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and controlling shareholder of Energy, Inc. Mr. Smith is a Director of Corning and John D. Oil and Gas Company, a publicly held company, of which Richard M. Osborne is also Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and a controlling shareholder, and Chief Executive Officer of Energy, Inc. Mr. Rigo is President of Lake Shore Gas Storage, Inc., an Ohio non-regulated natural gas storage controlled by Mr. Osborne. Gregory Osborne is Richard M. Osborne's son, a director of Corning, and Energy, Inc. and a director, President and Chief Operating Officer of John D. Oil and Gas Company.

At its regularly scheduled meeting on March 9, 2010, Corning's Board of Directors voted to form an independent committee to evaluate the offer and make recommendations to the full Board and/or the Company's shareholders. We cannot predict whether the special committee will recommend that we engage in further discussions with Energy, Inc., or, if it does, the result of those discussions. Any such transaction would be subject to approval of our board of directors (other than those directors with conflicting interests), approval by shareholders holding 2/3 rds of our outstanding common stock, approval by the New York Public Service Commission and other regulatory approvals. Even if the special committee were to negotiate and recommend a transaction to the board, we can provide no assurance whether required approvals would be obtained or the length of time obtaining the approvals would take.

If all of the subscription rights offered pursuant to this offering are exercised in full and all of the shares of common stock underlying the subscription rights are sold, we will receive total gross proceeds of approximately $1.874 million. After related offering expenses, which we estimate will approximate $47,630, we expect that our net proceeds will be approximately $1.826 million. We intend to use the net proceeds from this offering for general business purposes including, in combination with additional bank debt, to fund: (i) upgrades to existing infrastructure to meet regulatory requirements; (ii) capital expenditures and other costs of future growth in our existing service territory, expansion into new areas and increased connections with local and nearby production

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sources for proposed new projects to expand our business, and (iii) reductions in our outstanding borrowings under our lines of credit. In the short term, proceeds may be used to pay down lines of credit which may then be re-borrowed as capital costs are incurred. The following table illustrates our estimated sources and uses of funds in connection with this offering as of June 8, 2010, assuming exercise of all subscription rights.

In light of management's view of the growth opportunities available to the Company, we are currently in negotiations with institutional lenders to obtain debt financing to supplement the proceeds of this offering on a 60/40 debt to equity raised ratio. We cannot assure that the financing will be available. We expect to secure a loan commitment shortly for up to $1.875 million in term loans; an amount equal to 60% of the approximately $3.125 million capital maintenance expense for 2010 specified in our NYPSC rate case. If committed, the lender would advance this amount to the extent matched on a 60/40 basis by $1.25 million in new equity capital from the proceeds of this offering or otherwise. In addition, we believe the lender may be willing to finance other specific capital projects on a similar 60/40 basis.

The Company intends to use approximately $621,400 of the proceeds from this offering to pay amounts owed to Community Bank, N.A. with respect to a revolving line of credit pursuant to a Line of Credit Agreement and Commercial Line of Credit Agreement and Note and Commercial Security Agreement, each dated March 31, 2010 (together, the "Credit Agreement"), in the amount of $7 million between the Company and Community Bank. The line of credit is due and payable in full on the earlier to occur of (1) February 28, 2011, or (2) the date of demand by Community Bank, or (3) the date of an event of default as defined in the Credit Agreement unless extended by Community Bank. The line of credit bears interest annually at a fluctuating rate equal to the greater of 4% or the 30-day Libor Rate plus 2.25%. The Credit Agreement requires that the Company maintain "tangible net worth" of at least $9 million, a "debt to tangible net worth ratio" of less than 3.5 to 1, and a "debt service coverage ratio" of not less than 1.1 to 1 (as such terms are defined in the Credit Agreement).

Our board of directors determined the subscription price for the shares of common stock based on the information available to the board regarding our capital and other cash needs, the lack of an active trading market our common stock, the proposal letter from Energy, Inc., and other matters. Our board of directors considered a number of factors in establishing the subscription price, including the historic and then current market price of our common stock, our business prospects, our recent and anticipated operating results, general conditions in the securities markets, our need for capital, alternatives available to us for raising capital, the amount of proceeds desired, the pricing of similar transactions, the liquidity of our common stock and the level of risk to our investors. Our board of directors makes no recommendation to you about whether you should exercise any of your subscription rights.

The subscription price does not necessarily bear any relationship to the results of our past operations, cash flows, net income, or financial condition, the book value of our assets, or any other established criteria for value, nor does the trading history of our common stock accurately predict its future market performance. Because of the manner in which we have established the subscription price, the trading price of our common stock may be below the subscription price even at the closing of this rights offering.

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We did not seek or obtain any opinion of financial advisors or investment bankers in establishing the subscription price of the offering. On June 1, 2010, the last reported sales price for our common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board (r) was $22.50 per share. You should not consider the subscription price to be an indication of our value or any assurance of future value.

After weighing the factors discussed above and the effect of the rights offering of generating approximately $1.874 million in gross proceeds (before expenses), assuming that all of the shares of common stock underlying the subscription rights are sold, as additional capital for us, we believe that the rights offering is the best alternative to raise capital and in the best interests of Corning and our shareholders. We believe that the rights offering will strengthen our financial condition through generating additional cash, reducing certain current outstanding debt, and increasing our shareholders' equity. However, our board of directors is not making any recommendation as to whether you should exercise your subscription rights.

We will distribute to each holder of record of our common stock on the record date, at no charge, one transferable subscription right for each ten shares of our common stock owned. The record date for this rights offering is 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [July 9], 2010. We will distribute approximately _________ subscription rights, or one right for each ten shares of the common stock held. The exact number will vary depending on rounding up of fractional amounts. The subscription rights will be evidenced by rights certificates. Each subscription right will allow you to purchase one share of our common stock at a subscription price of $18.00 per share. If you elect to exercise your basic subscription privilege in full, you may also subscribe, at the subscription price, for additional shares of our common stock pursuant to your over-subscription privilege to the extent that other rights holders do not exercise their basic subscription privileges in full. If a sufficient number of shares of common stock are unavailable to fully satisfy the over-subscription privilege requests, the available shares will be sold pro rata among the holders of subscription rights who exercised their over-subscription privilege based on the number of shares each subscription rights holder subscribed for under the basic subscription privilege.

If you hold your shares in a brokerage account or through a dealer or other nominee, please see the information included below the heading "- Instructions to Beneficial Owners" at page 23.

We will not issue fractional subscription rights or cash in lieu of fractional subscription rights. You may request that the subscription agent divide your subscription rights certificate into transferable parts, for instance, if you are the record holder for a number of beneficial holders of our common stock. However, the subscription agent will not divide your subscription rights certificate so that you would receive any fractional subscription rights. The subscription agent will only facilitate subdivisions or transfers of subscription rights certificates until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [August 24], 2010, three business days prior to the expiration date.

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You may exercise your subscription rights at any time before 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [August 27], 2010, the expiration date for this rights offering. We may, in our sole discretion, extend the time for exercising the subscription rights.

We will extend the duration of this rights offering as required by applicable law, and we may choose to extend it if we decide to give investors more time to exercise their subscription rights in this rights offering. We may extend the expiration date of this rights offering by giving oral or written notice to the subscription agent on or before the scheduled expiration date. If we elect to extend the expiration of this rights offering, we will issue a press release announcing such extension no later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the next business day after the most recently announced expiration date. If we extend the time for exercising the subscription rights, we will not extend such time more than 30 days past the original expiration date.

If you do not exercise your subscription rights before the expiration date of this rights offering, your unexercised subscription rights will be null and void and will have no value. We will not be obligated to honor your exercise of subscription rights if the subscription agent receives the documents relating to your exercise after this rights offering expires, regardless of when you transmitted the documents, except if you have timely transmitted the documents under the guaranteed delivery procedures described below.

Your subscription rights entitle you to a basic subscription privilege and an over-subscription privilege.

With your basic subscription privilege, you may purchase one share of our common stock per subscription right, upon delivery of the required documents and payment of the subscription price of $18.00 per share of common stock, before the expiration of the rights offering. You are not required to exercise all of your subscription rights unless you wish to purchase shares under your over-subscription privilege. We will deliver certificates representing shares of common stock purchased with the basic subscription privilege as soon as practicable after this rights offering has expired.

In addition to your basic subscription privilege, you may also subscribe for additional share of common stock, upon delivery of the required documents and payment of the subscription price of $18.00 per share of common stock, before the expiration of this rights offering. You may only exercise your over-subscription privilege if you exercise your basic subscription privilege in full. If you wish to exercise your over-subscription privilege, you must submit payment in full for the number of shares of common stock you purchase with your basic subscription privilege and the number of shares you wish to purchase with your over-subscription privilege.

The number of shares of common stock that will be available for sale pursuant to the over-subscription privilege will be equal to the number of shares for which holders have not exercised their basic subscription privileges:

• If the number of shares of common stock requested by all holders exercising the over-subscription privilege is less than the total number of shares available, then each person exercising the over-subscription privilege will receive the total number of shares requested.
• If there are not enough shares of common stock to satisfy all subscriptions made under the over-subscription privilege, we will allocate the available shares pro rata among the over-subscribing rights holders. "Pro rata" means in proportion to the number of shares of common stock that you and the other holders of subscription rights have subscribed for exercising the over-subscription privileges.

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You may exercise your over-subscription privilege only if you exercise your basic subscription privilege in full. To determine if you have fully exercised your basic subscription privilege, we will consider only the basic subscription privileges held by you in the same capacity. For example, suppose that you were granted subscription rights for shares of our common stock that you own individually and shares of our common stock that you own collectively with your spouse. If you wish to exercise your over-subscription privilege with respect to the subscription rights you own individually, but not with respect to the subscription rights you own collectively with your spouse, you only need to exercise fully your basic subscription privilege with respect to the subscription rights you own individually, and you do not have to subscribe for any shares of our common stock under the basic subscription privilege owned with your spouse to exercise your individual over-subscription privilege. When you complete the portion of your subscription rights certificate to exercise your over-subscription privilege, you will be representing and certifying that you have fully exercised your subscription privileges as to shares of our common stock that you hold in that capacity. You must exercise your over-subscription privilege at the same time you exercise your basic subscription privilege in full.

If you exercise your over-subscription privilege and are allocated less than all of the shares of common stock for which you wish to subscribe, your excess payment for shares that are not allocated to you will be returned to you by mail, without interest or deduction, as soon as practicable after the expiration date of this rights offering. We will deliver certificates representing shares of common stock purchased with the over-subscription privilege as soon as practicable after this rights offering has expired and after all pro rata allocations and adjustments have been completed.

We may terminate this rights offering, in whole or in part, if at any time before completion of the offering if there is any investigation, claim, litigation, petition, judgment, order, decree, injunction, statute, law or regulation entered, enacted, amended or held to be applicable to this rights offering that in the sole judgment of our board of directors would or might make the offering or its completion, whether in whole or in part, illegal or otherwise restrict or prohibit completion of this offering. In addition, this offering is contingent upon various regulatory notices, petitions or approvals. We may waive this condition and choose to proceed with the offering even if these events occur. If we terminate the offering, in whole or in part, we will as promptly as practicable issue a press release notifying shareholders of the termination and all affected subscription rights will expire without value and all subscription payments received by the subscription agent will be returned promptly, without interest or deduction.

Our board of directors may cancel this rights offering, in whole or in part, in its sole discretion at any time prior to the time this rights offering expires for any reason. Relevant factors in deciding to cancel the rights offering would include a change in the market price of our common stock, the level of participation by our shareholders and the aggregate subscriptions we receive, changes in our business and capital plans, and the availability of other sources of funding including our ability to obtain debt financing on terms we deem favorable. If we cancel this rights offering, we will as promptly as practicable issue a press release notifying shareholders of the cancellation and any funds you paid to the subscription agent will be promptly refunded, without interest or deduction.

You may exercise your subscription rights by delivering the following to the subscription agent, at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [August27], 2010, the expiration date of this rights offering:

• your properly completed and executed subscription rights certificate with any required signature guarantees or other supplemental documentation, and
• your full subscription price payment for each share of common stock subscribed for under your subscription privileges, including each share subscribed for under both your basic subscription privilege and your over-subscription privilege.

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If you are a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock whose shares are registered in the name of a broker, custodian bank or other nominee, you should instruct your broker, custodian bank or other nominee to exercise your rights and deliver all documents and payment on your behalf prior to 5:00 p.m. New York City time on [August 27], 2010, the expiration date of this rights offering.

Your subscription rights will not be considered exercised unless the subscription agent receives from you, your broker, custodian or nominee, as the case may be, all of the required documents and your full subscription price payment prior to the expiration of this rights offering.

Your payment of the subscription price must be made in U.S. dollars for the full number of shares of common stock for which you are subscribing by personal check drawn upon a U.S. bank payable to the subscription agent or wire transfer of immediately available dunes, to the subscription account maintained by the subscription agent at Wachovia Bank, N.A., ABA No. 031-201-467, Account No. xxx-xxx-xxx-9168.

Your payment will be considered received by the subscription agent only upon:

• clearance of any personal check, or
• receipt of collected funds in the subscription account designated above.

If you are paying by personal check, please note that personal checks may take at least five business days to clear. If you wish to pay the subscription price by personal check, we urge you to make payment sufficiently in advance of the time this rights offering expires to ensure that your payment is received by the subscription agent and clears by the expiration date of the rights offering. If you elect to exercise your subscription rights, we urge you to consider using a wire transfer of funds to ensure that the subscription agent receives your funds prior to the expiration date.

You should deliver your subscription rights certificate and payment of the subscription price or, if applicable, notices of guaranteed delivery, to the subscription agent by one of the methods described below.

• By mail to: Registrar and Transfer Company, 10 Commerce Dr., Cranford, NJ 07016.
• You may call the subscription agent at 1-800-368-5948.

Your delivery to another address or by any method other than as set forth above will not constitute valid delivery.

If you do not indicate the number of subscription rights being exercised, if you do not forward full payment of the total subscription price payment for the number of rights that you indicate are being exercised, or if your aggregate subscription price payment is greater than the amount you owe for your subscription, the subscription agent will attempt to contact you to correct the discrepancy. However, if the subscription agent is unable to contact you, or you do not provide the requested information, you will be deemed not to have exercised your basic subscription privilege. Neither we nor the subscription agent will be liable for failure to contact you.

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The subscription agent will hold your payment of the subscription price in a segregated account with other payments received from other holders of subscription rights until we issue shares of our common stock to you upon consummation of this rights offering.

Your signature on each subscription rights certificate must be guaranteed by an eligible institution, such as a member firm of a registered national securities exchange or a member of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., or a commercial bank or trust company having an office or correspondent in the United States, subject to standards and procedures adopted by the subscription agent, unless:

• your subscription rights certificate provides that shares are to be delivered to you as record holder of those subscription rights, or
• you are an eligible institution.

If you are a broker, a trustee or a depositary for securities who holds shares of our common stock for the account of others on [July 9], 2010, the record date for this rights offering, you should notify the respective beneficial owners of those shares of this rights offering as soon as possible to find out their intentions with respect to their subscription rights. You should obtain instructions from the beneficial owners with respect to their subscription rights, as set forth in the form entitled "Beneficial Owner Election Form" we have provided to you for your distribution to beneficial owners. If the beneficial owners so instruct, you should complete the appropriate subscription rights certificates and submit them to the subscription agent with the proper payment. If you hold shares of our common stock for the account(s) of more than one beneficial owner, you may exercise the number of subscription rights to which all such beneficial owners in the aggregate otherwise would have been entitled had they been direct record holders of our common stock on the rights offering record date, provided that you, as a nominee record holder, make a proper showing to the subscription agent by submitting the form entitled "Nominee Holder Certification" that we are providing to you with your rights offering materials. If you did not receive this form, you should contact the subscription agent to request a copy.

If you are a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock or will receive your subscription rights through a broker, custodian bank or other nominee, we are asking your broker, custodian bank or other nominee to notify you of this rights offering. If you wish to exercise or sell your subscription rights, you will need to have your broker, custodian bank or other nominee act for you. If you hold certificates of our common stock directly and would prefer to have your broker, custodian bank or other nominee act for you, you should contact your nominee and request it to effect the transactions for you. To indicate your decision with respect to your subscription rights, you should complete and return to your nominee the form entitled "Beneficial Owners Election Form." You should receive this form from your broker, custodian bank or other nominee with the other rights offering materials. If you wish to obtain a separate subscription rights certificate, you should contact your nominee as soon as possible and request that a separate subscription rights certificate be issued to you. You should contact your broker, custodian bank or other nominee if you do not receive this form but you believe you are entitled to participate in this rights offering. We are not responsible if you do not receive the form from your broker, custodian bank or nominee or if you receive it without sufficient time to respond.

You should read and follow the instructions accompanying the subscription rights certificates carefully.

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You are responsible for the method of delivery of your subscription rights certificate(s) with your subscription price payment to the subscription agent. If you send your subscription rights certificate(s) and subscription price payment by mail, we recommend that you send them by registered mail, properly insured, with return receipt requested. You should allow a sufficient number of days to ensure delivery to the subscription agent prior to the time this rights offering expires. Because uncertified personal checks may take at least five business days to clear, you are strongly urged to pay, or arrange for payment, by means of a certified or cashier's check, money order or wire transfer of funds.

We will decide all questions concerning the timeliness, validity, form and eligibility of the exercise of your subscription rights and any such determinations by us will be final and binding. We, in our sole discretion, may waive, in any particular instance, any defect or irregularity, or permit, in any particular instance, a defect or irregularity to be corrected within such time as we may determine. We will not be required to make uniform determinations in all cases. We may reject the exercise of any of your subscription rights because of any defect or irregularity. We will not accept any exercise of subscription rights until all irregularities have been waived by us or cured by you within such time as we decide, in our sole discretion.

The subscription agent will attempt to notify you of any defect or irregularity in connection with your submission of subscription rights certificates; however, neither we nor the subscription agent will be liable for failure to so notify you. We reserve the right to reject your exercise of subscription rights if your exercise is not in accordance with the terms of this rights offering or in proper form. We will also not accept the exercise of your subscription rights if our issuance of shares of our common stock to you could be deemed unlawful under applicable law.

The exercise of your subscription rights may increase your ownership interest in our common stock. Pursuant to the regulations of the NYPSC, if you own more than 1% of our common stock, you may be disclosed in our reports filed with the NYPSC. If you own more than 5% of our common stock, you may be prohibited from engaging in certain transactions with us without the approval of the NYPSC. In addition, if you own more than 5% of our common stock, you are required to make certain filings with the SEC. Finally, if you own more than 20% of our common stock, you are prohibited from engaging in certain transactions with us without the approval of our board of directors or shareholders pursuant to the New York Business Corporation Law, or the NYBCL.

We will not be required to issue to you shares of our common stock in this rights offering if, in our opinion, you would be required to obtain prior clearance or approval from any state or federal regulatory authorities to own or control the shares if, at the time this rights offering expires, you have not obtained the required clearance or approval.

If you wish to exercise your subscription rights, but you do not have sufficient time to deliver the subscription rights certificate evidencing your subscription rights to the subscription agent on or before the time this rights offering expires, you may exercise your subscription rights by the following guaranteed delivery procedure:

• deliver to the subscription agent on or prior to the expiration date for this rights offering your subscription price payment in full for each share of our common stock you subscribed for under your subscription privileges in the manner set forth above in "- Method of Payment,"
• deliver to the subscription agent on or prior to the expiration date the form entitled "Notice of Guaranteed Delivery," substantially in the form provided with the "Instructions as to Use of Corning Natural Gas Corporation Rights Certificates" distributed with your subscription rights certificates, and

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• deliver the properly completed subscription rights certificate evidencing your subscription rights being exercised and the related nominee holder certification, if applicable, with any required signature guarantee, to the subscription agent within three business days following the date of your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery.

Your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery must be delivered in substantially the same form provided with the Instructions as to the Use of Corning Natural Gas Corporation Subscription Rights Certificates, which will be distributed to you with your subscription rights certificate. Your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery must come from an eligible institution, or other eligible guarantee institutions that are members of, or participants in, a signature guarantee program acceptable to the subscription agent.

In your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, you must state:

• your name,
• the number of subscription rights represented by your subscription rights certificates, the number of shares of our common stock for which you are subscribing under your basic subscription privilege and the number of shares of our common stock for which you are subscribing under your over-subscription privilege, if any, and
• your guarantee that you will deliver to the subscription agent any subscription rights certificates evidencing the subscription rights you are exercising within three business days following the date the subscription agent receives your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery.

You may deliver your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery to the subscription agent in the same manner as your subscription rights certificates at the address set forth above under "- Delivery of Subscription Materials and Payment" at page22. Alternatively, you may transmit your Notice of Guaranteed Delivery to the subscription agent by facsimile at (908) 497-2311. To confirm facsimile deliveries, you may call 1-800-368-5948. The subscription agent will send you additional copies of the form of Notice of Guaranteed Delivery if you request them. Please call 1-800-368-5848 to request any copies of the form of Notice of Guaranteed Delivery.

If you have any questions or require assistance regarding the method of exercising your subscription rights or requests for additional copies of this prospectus, the Instructions as to the Use of Corning Natural Gas Corporation Subscription Rights Certificates or the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery, you should contact the subscription agent at the address and telephone number set forth above.

We have appointed Registrar and Transfer Company to act as subscription agent for this rights offering. We will pay all fees and expenses of the subscription agent related to this rights offering and have also agreed to indemnify the subscription agent from liabilities that they may incur in connection with this rights offering. We have not engaged an underwriter in connection with this rights offering.

Once you have exercised your subscription privileges, you may not revoke your exercise, even if we extend the expiration date. Subscription rights not exercised prior to the expiration date of this rights offering will expire and will have no value.

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We expect that the exercise of your basic subscription privilege and your over-subscription privilege may be made through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company, or DTC. If your subscription rights are held of record through DTC, you may exercise your basic subscription privilege and your over-subscription privilege by instructing DTC to transfer your subscription rights from your account to the account of the subscription agent, together with certification as to the aggregate number of subscription rights you are exercising and the number of shares of common stock you are subscribing for under your basic subscription privilege and your over-subscription privilege, if any, and your subscription price payment for each share that you subscribed for pursuant to your basic subscription privilege and your over-subscription privilege.

The subscription price is $18.00 per share of our common stock. For more information with respect to how the subscription price was determined, see "Frequently Asked Questions About the Rights Offering" at page 5.

The subscription agent will mail rights certificates to you if you are a rights holder whose address is outside the United States or if you have an Army Post Office or a Fleet Post Office address. To exercise your rights, you must notify the subscription agent on or prior to the expiration date for the rights offering, and take all other steps which are necessary to exercise your rights, on or prior to that time. If you do not follow these procedures prior to the expiration of the rights offering, your rights will expire.

You may sell your subscription rights by contacting your broker or the institution through which you hold your securities. However, we will not take any steps to facilitate trading, and do not expect a market to develop in the trading of the subscription rights. Furthermore, we do not expect any transfers of subscription rights to be quoted on any inter-dealer quotation system or other national securities exchange. There has been no prior public market for the subscription rights, and we do not expect a trading market for the subscription rights to develop or, if a market develops, that the market will remain available throughout the subscription period. The rights will not be registered under any state securities laws, so you may not be able to transfer the rights in some states unless an exemption to such laws applies. You should consult your own counsel if you intend to sell or transfer your subscription rights.

If you do not exercise or sell your subscription rights, you will lose any value inherent in the subscription rights. See "- General Considerations Regarding the Partial Exercise, Transfer or Sale of Subscription Rights" at page 24.

You may transfer subscription rights in whole by endorsing the subscription rights certificate for transfer. Please follow the instructions for transfer included in the information sent to you with your subscription rights certificate. If you wish to transfer only a portion of the subscription rights, you should deliver your properly endorsed subscription rights certificate to the subscription agent. With your subscription rights certificate, you should include instructions to register the portion of the subscription rights you wish to transfer in the name of the transferee (and to issue a new subscription rights certificate to the transferee evidencing the transferred subscription rights). You may only transfer whole subscription rights and not fractions of a subscription right. If there is sufficient time before the expiration of this rights offering, the subscription agent will send you a new subscription rights certificate evidencing the balance of your subscription rights that you did not transfer to the transferee. You may also instruct the subscription agent to send the subscription rights certificate to one or more additional transferees. If you wish to sell your remaining subscription rights, you may request that the subscription agent send you certificates representing your remaining (whole) subscription rights so that you may sell them through your broker or dealer.

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If you wish to transfer all or a portion of your subscription rights, you should allow a sufficient amount of time prior to the time the subscription rights expire for the subscription agent to:

• receive and process your transfer instructions, and
• issue and transmit a new subscription rights certificate to your transferee or transferees with respect to transferred subscription rights, and to you with respect to any subscription rights you retained.

If you wish to transfer your subscription rights to any person other than a bank or broker, the signatures on your subscription rights certificate must be guaranteed by an eligible institution.

The amount of time needed by your transferee to exercise or sell its subscription rights depends upon the method by which you, as the transferor, deliver the subscription rights certificates, the method of payment made by your transferee, and the number of transactions that the holder instructs the subscription agent to effect. You should also allow up to ten business days for your transferee to exercise or sell the subscription rights that you transferred to it. Neither we nor the subscription agent will be liable to a transferee or transferor of subscription rights if subscription rights certificates or any other required documents are not received in time for exercise or sale prior to the expiration time.

You will receive a new subscription rights certificate upon a partial exercise, transfer or sale of subscription rights only if the subscription agent receives your properly endorsed subscription rights certificate no later than 5:00p.m., New York City time, on [August 24], 2010, three business days before the expiration date. The subscription agent will not issue a new subscription rights certificate if your subscription rights certificate is received after that time and date. If your instructions and subscription rights certificates are received by the subscription agent after that time and date, you will not receive a new subscription rights certificate and, therefore, will not be able to sell or exercise your remaining subscription rights.

You are responsible for all commissions, fees and other expenses (including brokerage commissions and transfer taxes) incurred in connection with the purchase, sale or exercise of your subscription rights, except that we will pay any fees of the subscription agent associated with this rights offering. Any amounts you owe will be deducted from your account.

If you do not exercise or sell your subscription rights before the expiration date, your subscription rights will expire without value and will no longer be exercisable.

An investment in shares of our common stock must be made according to each investor's evaluation of its own best interests and after considering all of the information in this prospectus, including the "Risk Factors" section of this prospectus beginning at page 11. Neither we nor our board of directors makes any recommendation to subscription rights holders regarding whether they should exercise or sell, any or all of, their rights.

As of May 12, 2010, there were 1,038,696 shares of our common stock outstanding. If all of the rights being issued are exercised, we will issue a total of [104,100] additional shares of common stock at an exercise price of $18.00 per share. Accordingly, assuming all of the shares of common stock offered in this rights offering are issued, there will be [1,142,796] shares of our common stock outstanding and 37,266 warrants to purchase 26,086 shares of our common stock outstanding immediately after the rights offering. The warrants were issued in connection with our 2007 rights offering and each warrant gives the holder the right to purchase 0.7 shares of our common stock within four years of the date of its issuance. The number of shares of our common stock outstanding is subject to any increases that may occur after the date of this prospectus as a result of the exercise, conversion or exchange of outstanding stock options or warrants.

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The officers and directors of Corning who hold shares of our common stock as of the record date will receive the same rights as other shareholders.

Our authorized capital stock consists of 3.5 million shares of common stock, par value $5.00 per share, and 500,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $5.00 per share. As of May 12, 2010, there were 1,038,696 shares of common stock outstanding and no shares of preferred stock outstanding. Our Charter does not prohibit us from issuing non-voting equity securities nor does it contain any redemption or sinking fund provisions.

All of our outstanding shares of common stock are validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable. The holders of our common stock are entitled to such dividends (whether payable in cash, property or capital stock) as may be declared from time to time by our board of directors from legally available funds, property or stock and will be entitled after payment of all prior claims, to receive all of our assets upon the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our company. Generally, holders of our common stock have no redemption, conversion or preemptive rights to purchase or subscribe for our securities.

The holders of common stock are entitled to vote on all matters as a single class, and each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock owned. Holders of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights. Our common stock is not currently traded on any securities exchange. Shares of our common stock are traded over-the-counter and sales are reported on the OTC Bulletin Board (r) under the symbol "CNIG."

Our board of directors is authorized, subject to certain limitations prescribed by law, to issue up to 500,000 shares of preferred stock in one or more classes or series and to fix the shares' designations, powers, preferences and relative participation, option or other special rights and qualifications, limitation or restrictions, including the dividend rate, conversion or exchange rights, redemption price and liquidation preference of any such series. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing desirable flexibility in connection with possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could have the effect of making it more difficult for a third party to acquire a majority of our outstanding voting stock. Also, the issuance of preferred stock with voting and conversion rights could materially and adversely affect the voting power of the holders of our common stock and may have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a change in control of Corning. We have no current plans to issue any preferred stock.

The NYBCL permits a corporation to indemnify its current and former directors and officers against expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in connection with a legal proceeding. To be indemnified, the person must have acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, and not opposed to, the best

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interests of the corporation. With respect to any criminal action or proceeding, the person must not have had reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful.

Our Charter and By-laws provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by the NYBCL, we will indemnify our present and future directors and officers against all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by them as a result of their being threatened with or otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding (other than an action commenced on our own behalf) by virtue of the fact that they are or were one of our officers or directors.

Our by-laws also provide that we may purchase and maintain insurance to indemnify Corning for any obligation we incur as a result of the indemnification of directors and officers, or to indemnify directors and officers, pursuant to our by-laws and in accordance with the NYBCL.

In addition to the provisions of our Charter and By-laws providing for indemnification of directors and officers, we have entered into an employment agreement with Michael I. German, our president and chief executive officer, which provides for us to indemnify Mr. German against all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him as a result of his being threatened with or otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding by virtue of the fact that he is or was one of our officers.

The following discussion is a summary of the material United States federal income tax consequences of the rights offering to holders of our common stock. Nixon Peabody LLP has acted as our tax counsel, has reviewed this summary, and has given us its opinion that the discussion below fairly summarizes the federal income tax consequences that are likely to be material to a holder of our common stock in connection with this rights offering. This discussion addresses only the federal income tax consequences to holders of common stock that hold their shares as capital assets and does not address all of the income tax consequences that may be relevant to particular holders of shares of common stock in light of their individual circumstances. This discussion does not address the tax consequences to holders of common stock who are subject to special rules, including, without limitation, financial institutions, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies, broker-dealers, dealers in securities or foreign currencies, foreign holders, persons who hold their shares as or in a hedge against currency risk, persons who hold their shares as a result of a constructive sale or as part of a conversion transaction or holders who acquired their shares of common stock pursuant to the exercise of employee stock options or otherwise as compensation. In addition, this discussion does not address the tax consequences to holders of common stock under any state, local or foreign tax laws or the alternative minimum tax provisions of the Internal Revenue Code.

This discussion is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (the "IRS") or any court. It is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), laws, regulations, rulings and decisions in effect on the date of this prospectus, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect, and to varying interpretations, that could result in United States federal income tax consequences different from those described below. As a result, we cannot assure you that the tax consequences described in this discussion will not be challenged by the IRS or will be sustained by a court if challenged by the IRS. No ruling has been or will be sought from the IRS as to the income tax consequences of the rights offering to holders of common stock. The IRS is not bound by the opinions of our counsel.

The following discussion summarizes the United States federal income tax consequences to a holder of our common stock upon the holder's initial receipt of the subscription rights and upon the subsequent exercise, expiration or sale of such rights.

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You should not recognize taxable income for U.S. federal income tax purposes in connection with the receipt of subscription rights in the rights offering if the rights offering is not part of a "disproportionate distribution" within the meaning of Section 305 of the Code. A disproportionate distribution is a distribution or a series of distributions, including deemed distributions, that has the effect of the receipt of cash or other property by some shareholders or holders of debt instruments convertible into stock and an increase in the proportionate interest of other shareholders in a company's assets or earnings and profits.

We believe that the distribution of rights in the rights offering does not constitute an increase in the proportionate interest of some shareholders in Corning's assets or earnings and profits for the purpose of Section 305 of the Code because all of our shareholders will receive subscription rights in the rights offering based upon their respective ownership our common stock. Accordingly, we do not believe that the rights offering should constitute part of a "disproportionate distribution," pursuant to Section 305 of the Code. However, there can be no assurances that our application of Section 305 to the rights offering is accurate. In the unlikely event the IRS successfully asserts that your receipt of subscription rights is currently taxable pursuant to Section 305 of the Code, the discussion under the heading "Consequences if the Rights Offering Is Considered Part of a Disproportionate Distribution" below describes the tax consequences that will result from such a determination.

Assuming that the distribution is not currently taxable, a holder's tax basis in the subscription rights will depend on the fair market value of the subscription rights and the fair market value of our common stock at the time of the distribution.

• If the total fair market value of the subscription rights being distributed in this offering represents 15% or more of the total fair market value of our common stock at the time of the distribution, a holder must allocate the basis of the holder's shares of common stock (with respect to which the subscriptions rights were distributed) between such stock and the subscription rights received by such holder. This allocation is made in proportion to the fair market value of the common stock and the fair market value of the subscription rights at the date of distribution. The fair market value of the subscription rights on the date the subscription rights will be distributed is uncertain, and we have not obtained, and do not intend to obtain, an appraisal of the fair market value of the subscription rights on that date. In determining the fair market value of the subscription rights, you should consider all relevant facts and circumstances, including any difference between the subscription price of the subscription rights and the sale price of our common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board^® on the date that the subscription rights are distributed, the length of the period during which the subscription rights may be exercised, and the fact that the subscription rights are transferable.
• If the total fair market value of the subscription rights being distributed in this offering is less than 15% of the total fair market value of our common stock at the time of the distribution, the basis of such subscription rights will be zero unless the holder elects to allocate part of the basis of the holder's shares of common stock (with respect to which the subscriptions rights were distributed) to the subscription rights. A holder makes such an election by attaching a statement to the holder's tax return for the year in which the subscription rights are received. This election, once made, will be irrevocable with respect to those rights. Any holder that makes such election should retain a copy of the election and of the tax return with which it was filed in order to substantiate the use of an allocated basis upon a subsequent disposition of the stock acquired by exercise. If the basis of a holder's subscription rights is deemed to be zero because the fair market value of the subscription rights at the time of distribution is less than 15% of the fair market value of our common stock and because the holder does not make the election described above, the holder's basis in the shares of common stock with respect to which such rights are received will not change.

The holding period for the subscriptions rights received by a holder of common stock in this rights offering will include the holder's holding period for the common stock with respect to which the subscriptions rights were received.

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A holder of common stock will not recognize any gain or loss upon the exercise of subscription rights received in the rights offering.

The tax basis of the common stock acquired through exercise of the subscription rights will equal the sum of (a) the exercise price and (b) the holder's tax basis, if any, in the subscription rights (determined as described above). The holding period for the common stock acquired through exercise of the subscription rights will begin on the date the subscriptions rights are exercised.

A holder who allows the subscription rights to expire will not recognize any gain or loss, and no portion of the tax basis of the common stock owned by such holder with respect to which such subscription rights were received will be allocated to the unexercised subscription rights.

A holder that sells the subscription rights to another person will recognize taxable gain or loss, if any, in an amount equal to the difference between (a) the proceeds from the sale and (b) the holder's tax basis in the subscription rights being sold (determined as described above). Such gain or loss will be a capital gain or loss if the subscription right is a capital asset in the hands of the seller.

If the rights offering is part of a disproportionate distribution, the distribution of subscription rights would be taxable to you as a dividend to the extent that the fair market value of the subscription rights you receive is allocable to our current and accumulated earnings and profits for the taxable year in which the subscription rights are distributed. We cannot determine prior to the consummation of the rights offering the extent to which we will have sufficient current and accumulated earnings and profits to cause any distribution to be treated as a dividend. Dividends received by corporate holders of our common stock are taxable at ordinary corporate tax rates subject to any applicable dividends-received deduction. Dividends received by noncorporate holders of our common stock in taxable years beginning before January 1, 2011, are taxed under current law at the holder's capital gain tax rate (a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the holder meets applicable holding period and other requirements. Any distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a tax-free return of basis, and any further distributions in excess of your tax basis in our common stock will be treated as gain from the sale or exchange of our common stock. Regardless of whether the distribution of subscription rights is treated as a dividend, as a tax-free return of basis or as gain from the sale or exchange of our common stock, your tax basis in the subscription rights you receive will be their fair market value.

If the receipt of subscription rights is taxable to you as described in the previous paragraph and you allow subscription rights received in the rights offering to expire, you should recognize a short-term capital loss equal to your tax basis in the expired subscription rights. Your ability to use any capital loss is subject to certain limitations. You will not recognize any gain or loss upon the exercise of the subscription rights, and the tax basis of the shares of our common stock acquired through exercise of the subscription rights will equal the sum of the subscription price for the shares and your tax basis in the subscription rights. The holding period for the shares of our common stock acquired through exercise of the subscription rights will begin on the date the subscription rights are exercised.

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We intend to distribute rights certificates and copies of this prospectus to those persons who were holders of our common stock on [July 9], 2010, the record date for this offering, promptly following the effective date of the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. In the event that the offering is not fully subscribed, holders of rights who exercise all of their rights in the rights offering will have the opportunity to subscribe for unsubscribed rights pursuant to an oversubscription right. See "The Rights Offering" at page 19. We have not agreed to enter into any standby or other arrangements to purchase or sell any rights or any shares of common stock except as otherwise disclosed in this prospectus. In addition, we have not entered into any agreements regarding stabilization activities with respect to our securities.

We have agreed to pay the subscription agent a fee plus certain expenses, which we estimate will total approximately $16,000. We estimate that our total expenses in connection with the rights offering will be approximately $47,630.

Certain legal matters with respect to the validity of the shares of common stock offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for us by Nixon Peabody LLP.

The financial statements incorporated by reference in this prospectus have been audited by EFP Rotenberg, LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm and successor to Rotenberg & Co., LLP, to the extent and for the periods set forth in its report incorporated herein by reference, and are incorporated by reference in reliance upon such reports given upon the authority of said firm as exerts in auditing and accounting.

Additional information regarding our business, properties, legal proceedings, equity compensation plans, changes in and disagreements with our accountants on accounting and financial disclosure, quantitative and qualitative disclosures about market risk, and our "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" is incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on December 18, 2009, as amended by Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on February 22, 2010, and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2009, filed with the SEC on February 4, 2010.

Additional information regarding our directors and executive officers, executive compensation, certain corporate governance matters, security ownership of certain beneficial owners and management, and certain relationships and related transactions is incorporated in this prospectus by reference to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on December 18, 2009, as amended by Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on February 22, 2010, and our definitive Proxy Statement dated March 10, 2010, and filed with the SEC on March 19, 2010.

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There have been no material changes in our affairs that have occurred since March 31, 2010, that have not been described in a Form 8-K filed under the Exchange Act.

We have filed a registration statement on Form S-1 with the SEC with respect to this rights offering. This prospectus is a part of the registration statement, but does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. You may wish to inspect the registration statement and the exhibits to that registration statement for further information with respect to us and the securities offered in this prospectus. Copies of our registration statement and the exhibits to the registration statement are on file at the offices of the SEC and may be obtained without charge on the websites noted above or upon payment of the prescribed fee or may be examined without charge at the public reference facilities of the SEC described above. Statements contained in this prospectus concerning the provisions of documents are necessarily summaries of the material provisions of the documents, and each statement is qualified in our entirety by reference to the copy of the applicable document filed with the SEC.

We have elected to incorporate by reference into this prospectus some of the information we file with the SEC under the Exchange Act. This means that we are disclosing important information to you by referring you to those filings. The information we incorporate by reference is considered a part of this prospectus, and any subsequent information that we file with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. Any information that we subsequently modify or supersede will not constitute a part of this prospectus, except as so modified or superseded. Specifically, we incorporate by reference the documents listed below and any future filings we make with the SEC under Sections 13(a), 13(c), 14, or 15(d) of the Exchange Act until we terminate the offering:

• our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009, filed with the SEC on December 18, 2009, as amended by Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-K/A filed with the SEC on February 22, 2010;
• our definitive Proxy Statement dated March 10, 2010, and filed with the SEC on March 19, 2010, in connection with our Annual Meeting of Shareholders held on April 20, 2010;
• our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended December 31, 2009, filed with the SEC on February 4, 2010, and our Quarterly Report for the period ended March 31, 2010, filed with the SEC on May 12, 2010, as amended by our Form 10-Q/A filed on May 26, 2010; and
• our Current Reports on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 6, 2010; January 15, 2010; February 11, 2010 (other than those documents furnished and not deemed to be filed); February 24, 2010; March 9, 2010; March 30, 2010; April 22, 2010; May 7, 2010; and June 6, 2010.

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You may request a copy of the information that we have incorporated by reference, at no cost, by writing or telephoning us at the following address:

Corning Natural Gas

330 West William St.

Corning, New York 14830

Attn: Stanley G. Sleve

Telephone: (607) 936-3755

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to our directors and officers, we have been advised that, although the validity and scope of the governing statute have not been tested in court, in the opinion of the SEC, such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In addition, indemnification may be limited by state securities laws.

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THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE RIGHTS OFFERING ARE SET FORTH IN THE COMPANY'S PROSPECTUS DATED __________, 2010 (THE "PROSPECTUS") AND ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. COPIES OF THE PROSPECTUS ARE AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST FROM REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY, THE SUBSCRIPTION AGENT.

(Incorporated under the laws of the State of New York)

Evidencing Subscription Rights, each to Purchase One Share of Common Stock of

Corning Natural Gas Corporation

Subscription Price: $18.00 per Share of Common Stock

THE SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS WILL EXPIRE IF NOT EXERCISED ON OR BEFORE 5:00 P.M.,

NEW YORK CITY TIME, ON [AUGUST 27], 2010, UNLESS EXTENDED BY THE COMPANY.

THIS CERTIFIES THAT the registered owner whose name is inscribed hereon is the owner of the number of subscription rights ("Rights") set forth on the face of this certificate. Each whole Right entitles the holder thereof, or its assigns, to subscribe for and purchase one share of common stock (the "Share"), with a par value of $5.00 per share, of Corning Natural Gas Corporation, a New York corporation (the "Company"), at a subscription price of $18.00 per Share (the "Basic Subscription Privilege"), pursuant to a rights offering (the "Rights Offering"), on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Prospectus and the "Instructions as to the Use of Subscription Rights Certificates" accompanying this Subscription Rights Certificate. The Rights expire at 5:00 p.m. on [August 27], 2010, unless extended. If the Company extends the time for exercising the Rights, it will not extend such time more than 30 days past the original expiration date. If any Shares available for purchase in the Rights Offering are not purchased by other holders of Rights pursuant to the exercise of their Basic Subscription Privilege (the "Excess Shares"), any Rights holder that exercises its Basic Subscription Privilege in full may subscribe for a number of Excess Shares pursuant to the terms and conditions of the Rights Offering, subject to proration, as described in the Prospectus (the "Over-Subscription Privilege"). The Rights represented by this Subscription Rights Certificate may be exercised by completing the Form of Election to Purchase on the reverse side hereof and by returning the full payment of the subscription price for each Share in accordance with the "Instructions as to the Use of Subscription Rights Certificates" that accompanies this Subscription Rights Certificate. The Rights evidenced by this Subscription Rights Certificate may also be transferred or sold by completing the Assignment Form on the reverse side hereof in accordance with the "Instructions as to the Use of Subscription Rights Certificates" that accompanies this Subscription Rights Certificate.

Transferable on the books of Corning Natural Gas Corporation in person or by duly authorized attorney upon surrender of this Subscription Rights Certificate properly endorsed. This Subscription Rights Certificate is not valid unless countersigned by the transfer agent and registered by the registrar.

WITNESS the facsimile signatures of two duly authorized officers of Corning Natural Gas Corporation.

CORNING NATURAL GAS CORPORATION COUNTERSIGNED AND REGISTERED:

REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY

BY: ___________________________________ as TRANSFER AGENT AND REGISTRAR

[Name], [Title]

BY: ___________________________________ BY: ___________________________________

[Name], [Title] [Name], [Title]

DATED: _______, 2010

CORNING NATURAL GAS CORPORATION

RIGHTS CUSIP: 219381 XXX

This Rights Certificate must be received by the Subscription Agent, together with payment in full, by 5:00p.m., New York City time, on [August 27], 2010, as it may be extended from time to time. Failure to submit this Rights Certificate to the Subscription Agent by that time or to comply with the guaranteed delivery procedures described in the Prospectus will result in a forfeiture of your Rights. Any subscription for Shares in this rights offering is irrevocable.

Complete the Form of Election to Purchase or the Assignment Form, as applicable. Any improperly completed or unexecuted rights certificate for Shares may cause the Subscription Agent in its sole discretion to reject such rights certificate. If you have any questions, contact the Subscription Agent at 1-800-368-5948.

REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY,

Subscription Agent

By Mail, Hand or Overnight Courier

Registrar and Transfer Company

10 Commerce Drive

Cranford, NJ 07016

Attn: Reorganization Department

Delivery other than in the manner or to the addresses listed above will not constitute valid delivery.

(To be executed by the registered holder if such holder desires to sell or

transfer to designated transferee through bank or broker)

FOR VALUE RECEIVED, ______________ hereby sells, assigns, and transfers unto:

SOCIAL SECURITY OR OTHER IDENTIFYING NUMBER OF

ASSIGNEE: _______________

Name: _______________

Address: _______________

the Rights evidenced hereby, and does hereby irrevocably constitute and appoint _______________ attorney to transfer those Rights on the books of the Company, with full power of substitution in the premises.

Dated: _______________, 2010

NOTICE: The signatures to this assignment must correspond to the names as written upon the face of this Rights Certificate in every particular, without alteration or enlargement or any change whatsoever.

Signatures Guaranteed:

By: ________________________

The signature(s) should be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution (bank, stock broker, savings and loan association or credit union) with membership in an approved signature guarantee medallion program pursuant to Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 17Ad-15.

PLEASE PRINT ALL INFORMATION CLEARLY AND LEGIBLY. The registered holder of this Rights Certificate is entitled to exercise the number of Rights shown in the upper right hand corner of the Subscription Rights Certificate and may subscribe for additional Shares upon the terms and conditions specified in the Prospectus.

The undersigned hereby notifies the Subscription Agent of its irrevocable election to subscribe for Shares in the following amounts:

To subscribe for Shares pursuant to your Basic Subscription Privilege, please complete lines (a) and (c) and sign below. To subscribe for Shares pursuant to your Over-Subscription Privilege, please also complete line (b).

(a) EXERCISE OF BASIC SUBSCRIPTION PRIVILEGE:

(b) EXERCISE OF OVER-SUBSCRIPTION PRIVILEGE:

If you have exercised your Basic Subscription Privilege in full and wish to subscribe for additional Shares pursuant to your Over-Subscription Privilege:

(c) Total Amount of Payment Enclosed $_______________

TO SUBSCRIBE: I acknowledge that I have received the Prospectus for this Rights Offering and I hereby irrevocably subscribe for the number of Shares indicated above on the terms and conditions specified in the Prospectus.

________________________________

Signature of subscriber

FOR INSTRUCTIONS ON THE USE OF CORNING NATURAL GAS CORPORATION SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS CERTIFICATES, CONSULT REGISTRAR AND TRANSFER COMPANY, THE SUBSCRIPTION AGENT, AT 1-800-368-5948

Each Right allows the holder thereof to subscribe for one Share (the "Basic Subscription Privilege") at the cash price of $18.00 per Share (the "Subscription Price").

In addition, each holder of Rights who exercises their Basic Subscription Privilege in full will be eligible to subscribe (the "Over-Subscription Privilege") at the same cash price of $18.00 per Share for Shares that are not purchased pursuant to the exercise of Rights by other holders of Rights under the Basic Subscription Privilege (the "Excess Shares"), subject to availability and pro ration as described below. Each holder of Rights may only exercise their Over-Subscription Privilege if they exercised their Basic Subscription Privilege in full and other holders of Rights do not exercise their Basic Subscription Privilege in full. If there are not enough Excess Shares to satisfy all subscriptions made under the Over-Subscription Privilege, Corning will allocate the remaining Excess Shares pro rata among those holders of Rights who exercised their Over-Subscription Privileges. "Pro rata" means in proportion to the number of Shares that each holder of Rights has purchased by exercising their Over-Subscription Privilege. The Subscription Agent will return any excess payments by mail without interest or deduction promptly after the expiration of the Rights Offering. See "The Rights Offering - Subscription Privileges" in the Prospectus.

The number of Rights to which you are entitled is printed on the face of your Subscription Rights Certificate. You should indicate your wishes with regard to the exercise or transfer of your Rights by completing the appropriate portions of your Subscription Rights Certificate and returning the certificate to the Subscription Agent in the envelope provided pursuant to the procedures described in the Prospectus.

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1. Method of Subscription - Exercise of Rights.

To exercise your Rights, complete the Subscription Rights Certificate and send the properly completed and executed Subscription Rights Certificate evidencing your Rights with any signatures required to be guaranteed so guaranteed, together with payment in full of the Subscription Price for each Share subscribed for pursuant to the Basic Subscription Privilege and the Over-Subscription Privilege, to the Subscription Agent, on or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date. Payment of the Subscription Price will be held in a segregated account to be maintained by the Subscription Agent. All payments must be made in U.S. dollars for the full number of Shares being subscribed for (a) by personal check drawn upon a U.S. bank or by wire transfer of immediately available funds, to the account maintained by the Subscription Agent for purposes of accepting subscriptions in the Rights Offering at:

(such account, the "Subscription Account"). Any wire transfer should clearly indicate the identity of the subscriber who is paying the Subscription Price by the wire transfer. Subscribers who elect to submit payment by wire transfer must notify the Subscription Agent prior to initiating the wire transfer via email at corningrights@rtco.com or facsimile at (908) 497-2311. Payments will be deemed to have been received by the Subscription Agent only upon (i) clearance of any uncertified check, or (ii) receipt of collected funds in the Subscription Account designated above. If paying by check, bank draft or money order, please reference your Subscription Rights Certificate number on your check, bank draft or money order. If paying by personal check, please note that the funds paid thereby may take at least five business days to clear. Accordingly, Rights holders who wish to pay the Subscription Price by means of personal check are urged to make payment sufficiently in advance of the Expiration Date to ensure that such payment is received and clears by such date and are urged to consider payment by means of wire transfer of funds.

The Subscription Rights Certificate and payment of the Subscription Price, or, if applicable, Notices of Guaranteed Delivery (as defined below) must be delivered to the Subscription Agent by one of the methods described below:

Delivery to any address or by a method other than those set forth above does not constitute valid delivery. If you have any questions or require additional copies of relevant documents please contact the Subscription Agent.

By making arrangements with your bank or broker for the delivery of funds on your behalf you may also request such bank or broker to exercise the Subscription Rights Certificate on your behalf. Alternatively, you may cause a written guarantee substantially in the form described in these instructions (the "Notice of Guaranteed Delivery"), from a member firm of a registered national securities exchange or a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or from a commercial bank or trust company having an office or correspondent in the United States or from a bank, stockbroker, savings and loan association or credit union with membership in an approved signature guarantee medallion program, pursuant to Rule 17Ad-15 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934,

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as amended (each, an "Eligible Institution"), to be received by the Subscription Agent on or prior to the Expiration Date together with payment in full of the applicable Subscription Price. Such Notice of Guaranteed Delivery must state your name, the number of Rights represented by the Subscription Rights Certificate or Subscription Rights Certificates held by you, the number of Shares being subscribed for pursuant to your Basic Subscription Privilege and the number of Shares, if any, being subscribed for pursuant to the Over-Subscription Privilege, and that you will guarantee the delivery to the Subscription Agent of any properly completed and executed Subscription Rights Certificate or Subscription Rights Certificates evidencing such Rights within three business days following the date of the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery. If this procedure is followed, the properly completed Subscription Rights Certificate or Subscription Rights Certificates evidencing the Rights being exercised, with any signatures required to be guaranteed so guaranteed, must be received by the Subscription Agent within three business days following the date of the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery. The Notice of Guaranteed Delivery may be delivered to the Subscription Agent in the same manner as Subscription Rights Certificates at the address set forth above, or may be transmitted to the Subscription Agent by facsimile transmission (Facsimile No.: (908) 497-2311). Additional copies of the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery may be obtained upon request from the Subscription Agent at the address, or by calling the telephone number, set forth above.

Banks, brokers and other nominee holders of Rights who exercise the Basic Subscription Privilege and the Over-Subscription Privilege on behalf of beneficial owners of Rights will be required to certify to the Subscription Agent and Corning, in connection with the exercise of the Over-Subscription Privilege, as to the aggregate number of Rights that have been exercised and the number of Shares that are being subscribed for pursuant to the Over-Subscription Privilege, by each beneficial owner of Rights (including such nominee itself) on whose behalf such nominee holder is acting. If more Excess Shares are subscribed for pursuant to the Over-Subscription Privilege than are available for sale, the Excess Shares will be allocated, as described above, among beneficial owners exercising the Over-Subscription Privilege.

If you exercise less than all of the Rights evidenced by your Subscription Rights Certificate by so indicating in the Form of Election to Purchase on the reverse side of your Subscription Rights Certificate, the Subscription Agent, (i) if you so request, will either issue to you a new Subscription Rights Certificate evidencing the unexercised Rights or (ii) if you so indicate in the Assignment Form on the reverse side of your Subscription Rights Certificate, will transfer the unexercised Rights in accordance with your instructions. A new Subscription Rights Certificate will be issued to you or transferred according to your instructions upon the partial exercise of Rights only if the Subscription Agent receives a properly endorsed Subscription Rights Certificate no later than 5:00p.m., New York City time, on [August 24], 2010, the third business day prior to the initial Expiration Date. After such date no new Subscription Rights Certificates will be issued. Accordingly, after such date if you exercise less than all of your Rights, you will lose the power to exercise your remaining Rights. All deliveries of newly issued Subscription Rights Certificates will be at your own risk.

If you do not indicate the number of Subscription Rights being exercised, if you do not forward full payment of the total Subscription Price payment for the number of Rights that you indicate are being exercised, or if your aggregate Subscription Price payment is greater than the amount you owe for your subscription, the Subscription Agent will attempt to contact you to correct the discrepancy. However, if the Subscription Agent is unable to contact you, or you do not provide the requested information, you will be deemed not to have exercised your Basic Subscription Privilege. Neither the Subscription Agent nor the Company will be liable for failure to contact you.

2. Issuance of Shares of Common Stock.

The following deliveries and payments will be made to the address shown on the face of your Subscription Rights Certificate unless you provide instructions to the contrary on the reverse side of your Subscription Rights Certificate under the heading "Delivery to a Different Address."

a. Basic Subscription Privilege. As soon as practicable after the Expiration Date and the valid exercise of Rights, the Subscription Agent will mail to each exercising Rights holder certificates representing shares of

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Common Stock underlying the Shares purchased pursuant to the Basic Subscription Privilege. See "The Rights Offering - Subscription Privileges - Basic Subscription Privilege" in the Prospectus.

b. Over-Subscription Privilege. As soon as practicable after the Expiration Date and after all pro rations and adjustments contemplated by the terms of the Rights Offering have been effected, the Subscription Agent will mail to each Rights holder who validly exercises the Over-Subscription Privilege certificates representing the number of shares of Common Stock underlying the Shares, if any, allocated to such Rights holder pursuant to the Over-Subscription Privilege. See "The Rights Offering - Subscription Privileges - Over-Subscription Privilege" in the Prospectus.

c. Excess Cash Payments. As soon as practicable after the Expiration Date and after all pro rations and adjustments contemplated by the terms of the Rights Offering have been effected, the Subscription Agent will mail to each Rights holder who exercises the Over-Subscription Privilege any excess amount, without interest or deduction, received in payment of the Subscription Price for Excess Shares that are subscribed for by such Rights holder but not allocated to such Rights holder pursuant to the Over-Subscription Privilege.

3. Sale or Transfer of Rights.

a. Sale of Rights through a Bank or Broker. To sell all Rights evidenced by a Subscription Rights Certificate through your bank or broker, sign the Assignment Form on the reverse side of your Subscription Rights Certificate leaving the rest of the form blank (your broker will add the buyer's name later). You must have your signature on the Assignment Form guaranteed by an Eligible Institution and deliver your Subscription Rights Certificate and the accompanying envelope to your bank or broker. Your Subscription Rights Certificate should be delivered to your bank or broker in ample time for it to be exercised. If the Assignment Form is completed without designating a transferee, the Subscription Agent may thereafter treat the bearer of the Subscription Rights Certificate as the absolute owner of all of the Rights evidenced by such Subscription Rights Certificate for all purposes, and the Subscription Agent shall not be affected by any notice to the contrary. Because your bank or broker cannot issue Subscription Rights Certificates, if you wish to sell less than all of the Rights evidenced by a Subscription Rights Certificate, either you or your bank or broker must instruct the Subscription Agent as to the action to be taken with respect to the Rights not sold, or you or your bank or broker must first have your Subscription Rights Certificate divided into Subscription Rights Certificates of appropriate denominations by following the instructions in Section 4 of these instructions. The Subscription Rights Certificates evidencing the number of Rights you intend to sell can then be transferred by your bank or broker in accordance with the instructions in this Section 3(a).

b. Transfer of Rights to a Designated Transferee. To transfer all of your Rights to a transferee other than a bank or broker, you must complete the Assignment Form in its entirety, execute the Subscription Rights Certificate and have your signature guaranteed by an Eligible Institution. A Subscription Rights Certificate that has been properly transferred in its entirety may be exercised by a new holder without having a new Subscription Rights Certificate issued. In order to exercise, or otherwise take action with respect to, such a transferred Subscription Rights Certificate, the new holder should deliver the Subscription Rights Certificate, together with payment of the applicable Subscription Price (with respect to the exercise of both the Basic Subscription Privilege and the Over-Subscription Privilege) and complete separate instructions signed by the new holder, to the Subscription Agent in ample time to permit the Subscription Agent to take the desired action. Because only the Subscription Agent can issue Subscription Rights Certificates, if you wish to transfer less than all of the Rights evidenced by your Subscription Rights Certificate to a designated transferee, you must instruct the Subscription Agent as to the action to be taken with respect to the Rights not sold or transferred, or you must divide your Subscription Rights Certificate into Subscription Rights Certificates of appropriate smaller denominations by following the instructions in Section 4 below. The Subscription Rights Certificate evidencing the number of Rights you intend to transfer can then be transferred by following the instructions in this Section 3(b).

c. Transfer of Rights. Rights holders wishing to transfer a portion of their Rights (but not fractional Rights) should allow a sufficient amount of time prior to the Expiration Date for: (i) the transfer instructions to be received and processed by the Subscription Agent; (ii) a new Subscription Rights Certificate to be issued and transmitted to the transferee or transferees with respect to transferred Rights and to the transferor with respect to

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retained Rights, if any; and (iii) the Rights evidenced by such new Subscription Rights Certificates to be exercised or sold by the recipients thereof. The Subscription Agent will facilitate transfers of Subscription Rights Certificates only until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [August 24], 2010, the third business day before the initial Expiration Date.

d. Liability. Neither Corning nor the Subscription Agent shall have any liability to a transferee or transferor of Rights if Subscription Rights Certificates are not received in time for exercise or sale prior to the Expiration Date.

e. Commissions, Fees, and Expenses. Corning will pay all fees and expenses of the Subscription Agent and has also agreed to indemnify the Subscription Agent from certain liabilities that they may incur in connection with the Rights Offering. All commissions, fees, and other expenses (including brokerage commissions and transfer taxes) incurred in connection with the purchase, sale or exercise of Rights will be for the account of the transferor of the Rights, and none of such commissions, fees or expenses will be paid by Corning or the Subscription Agent.

4. Division of Subscription Rights Certificate into Smaller Denominations.

To have a Subscription Rights Certificate divided into smaller denominations, send your Subscription Rights Certificate, together with complete separate instructions (including specification of the denominations into which you wish your Rights to be divided) signed by you, to the Subscription Agent, allowing a sufficient amount of time for new Subscription Rights Certificates to be issued and returned so that they can be used prior to the Expiration Date. Alternatively, you may ask a bank or broker to effect such actions on your behalf. The Subscription Agent will facilitate subdivisions of Subscription Rights Certificates only until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on [August 24], 2010, three business days prior to the initial Expiration Date. Your signature must be guaranteed by an Eligible Institution if any of the new Subscription Rights Certificates are to be issued in a name other than that in which the old Subscription Rights Certificate was issued. Subscription Rights Certificates may not be divided into fractional Rights, and any instruction to do so will be rejected. As a result of delays in the mail, the time of the transmittal, the necessary processing time and other factors, you or your transferee may not receive the new Subscription Rights Certificates in time to enable the Rights holder to complete a sale or exercise by the Expiration Date. Neither Corning nor the Subscription Agent will be liable to either a transferor or transferee for any delays.

5. Execution.

a. Execution by Registered Holder. The signature on the Subscription Rights Certificate must correspond with the name of the registered holder exactly as it appears on the face of the Subscription Rights Certificate without any alteration, enlargement or change whatsoever. Persons who sign the Subscription Rights Certificate in a representative or other fiduciary capacity must indicate their capacity when signing and, unless waived by the Subscription Agent in its sole and absolute discretion, must present to the Subscription Agent satisfactory evidence of their authority to so act.

b. Execution by Person Other than Registered Holder. If the Subscription Rights Certificate is executed by a person other than the holder named on the face of the Subscription Rights Certificate, proper evidence of authority of the person executing the Subscription Rights Certificate must accompany the same unless, for good cause, the Subscription Agent dispenses with proof of authority.

c. Signature Guarantees. Your signature must be guaranteed by an Eligible Institution if you specify special payment instructions.

6. Method of Delivery to Subscription Agent.

The method of delivery of Subscription Rights Certificates and payment of the Subscription Price to the Subscription Agent will be at the election and risk of the Rights holder, but, if sent by mail, it is recommended that you send your certificates and payments by registered mail, properly insured, with return receipt requested, and that

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a sufficient number of days be allowed to ensure delivery to the Subscription Agent and the clearance of payment prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the Expiration Date. Because uncertified personal checks may take at least five business days to clear, you are strongly urged to pay, or arrange for payment, by means of certified or cashier's check, money order or wire transfer of funds.

7. Special Provisions Relating to the Delivery of Rights through the Depository Trust Company.

In the case of Rights that are held of record through the Depository Trust Company (the "Book-Entry Transfer Facility"), exercises of the Basic Subscription Privilege and of the Over-Subscription Privilege may be effected by instructing the Book-Entry Transfer Facility to transfer Rights from the Book-Entry Transfer Facility account of such holder to the Book-Entry Transfer Facility account of the Subscription Agent, together with certification as to the aggregate number of Rights exercised and the number of Shares thereby subscribed for pursuant to the Basic Subscription Privilege and the Over-Subscription Privilege by each beneficial owner of Rights on whose behalf such nominee is acting, and payment of the Subscription Price for each Share subscribed for pursuant to the Basic Subscription Privilege and the Over-Subscription Privilege.

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* Estimated solely for purposes of this table

The NYBCL permits a corporation to indemnify its current and former directors and officers against expenses, judgments, fines and amounts paid in connection with a legal proceeding. To be indemnified, the person must have acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, and not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation. With respect to any criminal action or proceeding, the person must not have had reasonable cause to believe the conduct was unlawful.

The NYBCL permits a present or former director or officer of a corporation to be indemnified against certain expenses if the person has been successful, on the merit or otherwise, in defense of any proceeding brought against such person by virtue of the fact that the person is or was an officer or director of the corporation. In addition, the NYBCL permits the advancement of expenses relating to the defense of any proceeding to directors and officers contingent upon the person's commitment to repay advances for expenses in the case he or she is ultimately found not to be entitled to be indemnified.

The NYBCL provides that the indemnification provisions contained in the NYBCL are not exclusive of any other right that a person seeking indemnification may have or later acquire under any provision of a corporation's certification of incorporation or by-laws, or, when authorized by the corporation's certificate of incorporation or by-laws, by any agreement, by any vote of shareholders or disinterested directors or otherwise. The NYBCL also provides that a corporation may maintain insurance, at its expense, to protect its directors and officers in instances in which they may not otherwise be indemnified by the corporation under the provisions of the NYBCL provided the contract of insurance covering the directors and officers provides, in a manner acceptable to the New York superintendent of insurance, for a retention amount and for co-insurance.

Our Charter and By-laws provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by the NYBCL, we will indemnify our present and future directors and officers against all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by them as a result of their being threatened with or otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding (other than an action commenced on our own behalf) by virtue of the fact that they are or were one of our officers or directors.

Our by-laws also provide that we may purchase and maintain insurance to indemnify Corning for any obligation we incur as a result of the indemnification of directors and officers, or to indemnify directors and officers, pursuant to our by-laws and in accordance with the NYBCL.

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In addition to the provisions of our Charter and By-laws providing for indemnification of directors and officers, we have entered into an employment agreement with Michael I. German, our president and chief executive officer, which provides for us to indemnify Mr. German against all expenses actually and reasonably incurred by him as a result of his being threatened with or otherwise involved in any action, suit or proceeding by virtue of the fact that he is or was one of our officers.

None.

Except as otherwise indicated, the exhibits listed below are filed as part of this registration statement. References to exhibits or other filings under the caption "Location" indicate that that exhibit or other filing has been filed, that the indexed exhibit and the exhibit referred to are the same, and that the exhibit referred to is incorporated by reference.

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The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

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(i) To include any prospectus required by Section10(a)(3) of the Securities Act;

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or any decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low end or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20% change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the "Calculation of Registration Fee" table in the effective registration statement;

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities to be offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be an initial bona fide offering thereof.

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which shall remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

(4) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act to any purchaser:

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of the securities: The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

That, for the purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each filing of the Registrant's annual report pursuant to Section13(a) or Section15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that is incorporated by reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered herein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933 may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

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Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, the registrant has duly caused this Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Corning, State of New York, on June 9, 2010.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Amendment No. 1 to the registration statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.