The parish was named in honour of Ralph Burton, military commander-in-chief in Montreal at the time of its establishment as a township.^[5]

Burton was first established in 1765 as a Nova Scotia township.^[6]

Burton was erected in 1786 as one of the original parishes of Sunbury County.^[7] The parish extended further inland than the township.^[8]

In 1835 the rear of the parish was included in the newly erected Blissville Parish.^[9]

In 1896 the boundary with Blissville was altered along the Nerepis Road.^[10]

In 1949 the boundary with Blissville was changed back to its pre-1896 course.^[11]

Burton Parish is bounded:^{[2][12][13][14]}

• on the north by the Saint John River;
• on the southeast by the Queens County line;
• on the south by a line beginning at a point on the Queens County line about 18.2 kilometres inland, then running north 66º west^[a] to the Oromocto River at a point about 1.2 kilometres downstream of the mouth of Shaw Creek;
• on the west and northwest by the Oromocto River;
• including Gilbert, Ox, and Ram Islands in the Saint John River.

Communities at least partly within the parish;^[12][13][14] bold indicates an incorporated municipality or Indian reserve; italics indicate a community expropriated for CFB Gagetown

Bodies of water^[b] at least partly in the parish:^[12][13][14]

Islands in the parish:^[12][13][14]

• Gilbert Island
• Ox Island
• Ram Island

Parks, historic sites, and other noteworthy places in the parish.^[12][13][14]

• CFB Gagetown

Parish population total does not include Oromocto 26 Indian reserve and area within 2021 boundaries of Oromocto. Revised census figures based on the 2023 local governance reforms have not been released.

Highways and numbered routes that run through the parish, including external routes that start or finish at the parish limits:^[21]

• List of parishes in New Brunswick

• Burton-Greater Geary Local Service District
• Town of Oromocto

45°48′05″N 66°24′18″W / 45.8014°N 66.405°W / 45.8014; -66.405